DHAKA, June 4, 2020 (BSS) – The Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief (MODMR) is proud to partner with The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) to support community resilience in the Rohingya camps, welcoming a contribution of US$ 35 million from the World Bank.
This funding is received as part of a larger grant of US$165 million from the World Bank to the MODMR, with WFP implementing part of the overall project.
The US$ 35 million grant will go toward providing work opportunities and community services to Rohingyas. This includes food assistance support to 700,000 people as part of the COVID-19 humanitarian response in the camps, said a joint news release of MoDMR and WFP.
The project will scale up self-reliance opportunities for extremely vulnerable families in the camps and target young people with volunteering opportunities to promote social cohesion.
The self-reliance programmes aim to improve the economic and social resilience of 60,000 displaced Rohingya households. This is done through working days centred around short-term community service, volunteer services, and training courses.
It also includes skills development and self-reliance activities for the vulnerable households. For extremely vulnerable households and individuals it includes transfers in return for their engagement in volunteer networks.
The project will provide work opportunities for around 40,000 displaced Rohingya households, which is equivalent to reaching more than 20 percent of the camp population, to help improve camp conditions through public works such as site, accessibility, and drainage improvement as well as reforestation.
“I hope the implementation of this agreement is conducive to improving access to the rights and privileges of the Rohingya people,” said Disaster Management and Relief senior secretary Shah Kamal.
“These are important programmes for both the Rohingyas and host communities,” said Richard Ragan, WFP Representative to Bangladesh.
“To improve medium to long-term resilience and social cohesion, people need to have the skills, market linkages, and resources to improve their long-term food security,” Ragan added.
WFP provides food assistance to 860,000 Rohingya people each month and is supporting around 600,000 people in the host community in Cox’s Bazar.