Manusher Jonno Foundation (MJF) has started distributing cash assistance to some 23,000 Covid-19 affected marginalized households in the country’s 38 districts through a three-month emergency cash transfer initiative, under the Excluded People’s Rights in Bangladesh (EPR) Program, supported by the UK Government’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO).
In the first phase beginning 17 September, MJF is distributing 57.5 million Taka to 23,000 marginalized households in 38 priority districts which have a high concentration of marginalized and excluded people in poverty prone locations, said a press release issued in this regard on Thursday.
Those households, left out of social safety-net coverage, were selected on a priority basis for this cash support of MJF. The beneficiaries were selected through a multi-tier selection process involving local administration, community leaders, and youth volunteers of MJF’s 58 partner NGOs.
Mostly rural marginalized and excluded people (i.e. tea garden workers, plain land indigenous people, indigenous people of Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT), fishermen, violence victims, women survivors, widow, and destitute women, people with disabilities, etc.) have been enlisted as eligible beneficiaries for this cash transfer program.
In Dhaka and other big cities, the transfer is mostly limited to Dalits, sex workers, LGBT people who have not received any social protection support, read the release.
Women in households are being given preference to receive cash assistance while exception was allowed for people with disabilities and/or in the absence of adult female household members.
Selected special category beneficiaries under 18 years of age such as disabled boys and girls, victims of child marriage, school children of ethnic minorities are also receiving cash given to their guardians, added the release.
Special attention is being given to pregnant women, elderly people, and persons with disabilities (PWD’s) during physical cash transfer.
Distribution committees and grievance redressal committees have been formed in each community, read the release.
MJF’s Executive Director Shaheen Anam, appreciating UK’s response, said: “The support of the British government is laudable which will help some 23,000 marginalized households covering vulnerable people, who are the hardest hit by Covid-19 pandemic and are in urgent need of substantive cash support for the next three months.”