WFP lauds govt for empowering women

The World Food Programme (WFP) has praised the government for its commitment towards empowering women and achieving food security in Bangladesh.

The food aid arm of the United Nations in a press release issued on Sunday said they have been working with the Bangladesh government to lift rural women out of extreme poverty.

Under the programme, each participant will receive a start-up grant of Tk15,000 ($180) and a monthly ration of 30kg of fortified rice during their training period.

With an investment of $72 million, the government will work to achieve their target with the technical assistance from the WFP.

The programme covers participants from all 64 districts of the country, specially residing in remote areas.

These women are prone to natural disasters and face high poverty levels with low employment opportunities, said the WFP, claiming their Investment Component for Vulnerable Group Development (ICVGD) programme a ground breaking one.

Under this programme, one lakh women are targeted to be provided livelihood training like entrepreneurship and finance management skills, behavior change education like health, sanitation and hygiene along with food assistance.

“Thanks to commitments like this, rural women will now have a chance to transform their lives and that of their children through skills and knowledge,” said Richard Ragan, WFP Representative and Country Director in Bangladesh.

Currently in the second phase, the programme was initiated in 2015 and provided same support to 8,000 rural women at that time.

The evaluation of the first phase showed improvements in income, food security and dietary diversity of those women as well as their families, said the press release.

The ICVGD, a part of the Vulnerable Group Development (VGD) programme, is the largest safety net programme and run by the Ministry of Women and Children Affairs.