The World Food Program (WFP) has initiated an innovative finance project based on weather forecast to assist flood victims in north west of Bangladesh.
The first-ever forecast-based finance scheme will cover more than 275,000 people to mitigate flood impact through early action.
These will include cash transfers along with existing government interventions.
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“Home to more than 700 rivers, Bangladesh is increasingly seeing the impact of climate change. Erratic monsoon and downpours are causing severe floods,” said Richard Ragan, WFP representative and country director in Bangladesh, in a press release on Thursday.
“WFP is using a combination of cash and food to urgently meet the basic needs of more than a quarter million people whose homes and agricultural lands have been inundated.”
Around 5,000 households (25,000 people) received Tk4,478 ($53) through mobile money transfers in Kurigram as part of the project. Cash was distributed to the most vulnerable, including families headed by disabled people, the elderly and single women.
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The assistance helped people pay for basic needs such as food and other urgently needed goods and services.
WFP is supporting more than 250,000 people in three north-western districts with energy-boosting biscuits that will sustain them for three days as an immediate response to the floods. The biscuits are often used in emergencies as they are nutritious, easy to transport and do not need cooking.
The Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief reports that 2.3 million people have been affected in 20 of Bangladesh’s 64 districts.
WFP is closely monitoring the floods in coordination with the government and we stand ready to assist further, should the situation deteriorate.
