$95m US help for poor
The United States will provide $95 million to empower the ultra poor and improve health and nutrition of women and children in Khulna and Barisal divisions in the next five years.
The two programs “Nobo Jibon (New Life) and Program for Strengthening Household Access to Resources (PROSHAR) will receive the amount from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
USAID signed agreements with the government to this effect, yesterday.
Through these two initiatives, USAID will work to increase the income of ultra poor, improve the health and nutrition of women and children, and strengthen households' resiliency to natural disasters in Bangladesh's two southern divisions, said a press release.
The funding will be provided in the form of cash and a total of 2,29,742 metric tonnes of wheat, lentils, split peas, and vegetable oil.
ACDI/VOCA, a US-based NGO, will implement PROSHAR in the Khulna division while, Nobo Jibon will be implemented in the Barisal division by Save the Children, USA.
Together, these programmes aim to reach approximately 900,000 households.
The Ministry of Food and Disaster Management will be contributing $4.7 million to support the programmes.
ACDI/VOCA and Save the Children will utilise the funds in areas of technical assistance as well as health and disaster management training. Funds will also be used to complete community infrastructure projects to respond to natural disasters such as floods and cyclones.
The United States, through USAID, is working to improve the lives of the poor people in Bangladesh. USAID administers programmes in Bangladesh in five broad areas: improving health and pre-primary education, creating income opportunities for rural poor, supporting good governance, enhancing food security, and strengthening disaster preparedness and providing emergency assistance following natural disasters.
Since 1971, the US Government has provided more than $5 billion in assistance to Bangladesh.
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