The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is going to launch a $1.5 million emergency food support for 50,000 extremely poor urban families to ameliorate some of their immediate hardships and counter potentially devastating socio-economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The UNDP has also launched an awareness campaign in four districts on Covid-19.
This emergency response initiative involving $1.5m has been implemented under UNDP’s Livelihoods Improvement of Urban Poor Communities Project (LIUPCP). This is a joint project being implemented by the Local Government Division, United Kingdom's Department of International Development (DFID), and UNDP, aiming to reduce urban poverty.
“Reaching the urban poor and vulnerable very quickly and rapidly is always challenging in a global crisis like COVID-19. I am very pleased that DFID, in partnership with the Government of Bangladesh and UNDP, was able to respond so quickly," said Judith Herbertson, DFID Bangladesh country representative.
The livelihoods of a large number of urban poor have been severely disrupted due to the lockdown and the loss of income," she said.
"By working closely with officials of the city administration, the Livelihoods Improvement of Urban Poor Communities Project is responding to the situation in a number of ways, including providing hand washing facilities and cash grants to buy food for those whose income has either stopped or been severely affected due to this unprecedented situation,” she added.
Under the initiative, food will be delivered to the doorsteps of the poor households, said Sudipto Mukerjee, resident representative, UNDP Bangladesh.
"We are targeting 2.16 million urban poor people to keep them safe from Coronavirus," he said.
UNDP launches awareness campaign in 4 districts on Covid-19
The awareness campaign began on Monday through UNDP's countrywide network of a project titled 'Strengthening Women’s Ability for Productive New Opportunities (SWAPNO).
SWAPNO has begun an awareness campaign across 172 unions in four districts, aiming to raise awareness and educate people about the spread of Covid-19 and its prevention methods.
The campaign will be active in 172 unions across Kurigram, Lalmonirhat, Jamalpur, and Gaibandha. Around 50,000 people will benefit from this campaign.
