United News of Bangladesh

Bangladesh has signed an agreement with the World Food Programme (WFP) for expanding and improving school feeding programme for the country's primary school students. The agreement was inked in an event attended by Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen. Bangladesh government introduced a school feeding programme in 2010 and now some 23 lakh students of 15,000 primary schools in 104 upazilas are getting free meals. Read: PM Hasina offers Nepal use of Payra port during meeting with Nepalese counterpart in Rome Under the new agreement, the school feeding programme will be expanded to more than 150 upazilas, raising the number of beneficiaries to 37 lakh students. Besides, fruits, milk, bread, eggs and other nutritious foods will be served instead of fortified biscuits. Thanks to the feeding programme, the dropout rate has declined by 7.5 percent and the enrolment rate has increased by 14 percent in the primary schools, said Momen. Read: Bangladesh-Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Room opened at FAO Headquarters  Moreover, Bangladesh has become the 85th member of the School Meals Coalition at an event here on Monday. Bangladesh Ambassador to Italy Md Shameem Ahsan and PM’s speechwriter Md Nazrul Islam were present.

Cindy McCain will become the next executive director of the World Food Programme (WFP) next month, the UN agency said Thursday. Currently serving as the United States Ambassador to the UN agencies in Rome – which includes lifesaving food relief agency WFP – the wife of the late US Senator and Republican presidential candidate, John McCain, said she was "deeply honoured" to be appointed, noting that the agency has been part of her life for decades. Cindy is the former chair of the Board of Trustees of the McCain Institute for International Leadership at Arizona State University. She has a long track record in non-profit and humanitarian work, having served on the Board of Directors of Project CURE, CARE, Operation Smile, the Halo Trust and the advisory boards of Too Small To Fail and Warriors and Quiet Waters. "I am ready to roll up my sleeves and spend time both in Rome and in the field, deepening my understanding of WFP's vital work, and making sure it continues to grow to meet the needs of a hungry world," said McCain. Read more: Reduction in WFP assistance could drive up crimes, radicalization in Rohingya camps: ARSPH She will take over from fellow American, David Beasley, who will have served six years when his term ends on April 4. Announcing the appointment at the regular press briefing in New York, UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said the secretary-general was "deeply grateful for his "important contribution and service" to the WFP.  Cindy, he said, was a "champion for human rights" who has "a long history of giving a voice to the voiceless through her humanitarian and philanthropic work." The increasing number of conflicts, climate shocks and economic turmoil has led to a sharp rise in the number of acutely food-insecure people struggling to get enough food to feed their families – up almost 200 million since before the coronavirus pandemic, the WFP said in a press release announcing  Cindy's appointment. The WFP said it provided more than 158 million people with food, cash and vouchers last year, more than in any previous year, and received a record $14 billion in funding. In 2020, the emergency food agency was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

The Arakan Rohingya Society for Peace and Human Rights (ARSPH), a group based in Cox’s Bazar refugee camps, has expressed deep concerns about the recent announcement that the World Food Programme (WFP) will have to reduce its general food assistance voucher value from USD 12 to USD 10 per person per month, due to a USD 125 million funding shortfall. “As refugees living in the camp, we know first-hand how difficult it is to survive on even $12 per month, and this reduction is likely to have a devastating impact on the already dire situation of our community. It is hard to fathom how we are going to survive on $10 per month when even with $12 per month, people are struggling to make ends meet,” reads a press release signed by Abdur Rahim, vice-chairman of ARSPH. Also Read: UN experts for immediate funding to avert food ration cuts for Rohingyas The reduction of food assistance is likely to lead to a host of new challenges, including extortion, prostitution, human trafficking, drug trafficking, and radicalization, noted the release, adding, “The desperation of our people will create an environment in which these activities thrive, leaving the most vulnerable members of our community at great risk.” The group pleaded the international community to take urgent action to ensure that the ration sizes do not get cut. “It is unacceptable that we, as refugees, are being forced to bear the burden of a funding shortfall that is not of our making. The international community must take responsibility for ensuring that we receive the assistance we need to survive,” it said. Read More: South Korea reaffirms its support for ultimate resolution of Rohingya crisis On behalf of the Rohingya community, they urged the World Food Programme and other humanitarian organizations to find alternative sources of funding to make up for the shortfall. “We call on donor countries to increase their contributions to the Rohingya crisis. Our lives depend on it, and we implore the international community not to turn a blind eye to our plight,” it added. 

Bangladesh has suggested the World Food Programme (WFP) to set up a Regional Food Bank in South Asia as a strategic reserve for the region. Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen shared the concerns over food insecurity around the world when newly appointed Country Director of WFP Domenico Scalpelli presented his credentials to him at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Thursday. He urged the WFP to enhance its focus on the issue of nutrition as part of its various programmes carried out in collaboration with the Government. Also read: Dhaka approached Swiss banks about deposit of Bangladeshi money: Momen Momen urged the WFP and other UN agencies operating in Myanmar’s Rakhine State to help create an environment conducive to the safe, voluntary, dignified and sustainable repatriation of the Rohingyas, now sheltered in Bangladesh, to Myanmar. Scalpelli appreciated Bangladesh’s generosity to host the forcibly displaced Rohingya and urged the Foreign Minister to impress upon the international community to continue support for WFP’s much-needed work in the humanitarian crisis. Also read: A high-profile Saudi delegation to visit Bangladesh soon to discuss energy cooperation: Envoy The Foreign Minister recalled his last meeting with the WFP Executive Director David M Beasely, and thanked WFP for commencing work in support of the Rohingya relocated to Bhashan Char. The WFP Country Representative informed the Foreign Minister about his upcoming trip to Bhashan Char, and thanked the government for providing support to WFP staff with accommodation, transportation and other facilities there. The WFP Country Representative thanked Bangladesh for providing leadership of its Executive Board at a critical time for the international community. The Foreign Minister assured Scalpelli of necessary cooperation from the government in effectively discharging his mandate.

For the first time, Bangladesh has been elected the president of the executive board of the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP). The 36-member executive board of the Rome-based world's largest humanitarian organisation unanimously elected Bangladesh as the president of the board for 2022 in its first regular session on Monday, said Bangladeshi Ambassador to Italy Shameem Ahsan. Also read: WFP ED lauds Bangladesh's development journey

The United Nations World Food Programme warned that the world is no longer moving towards Zero Hunger. According to the international organisation, progress has stalled, reversed, and today, more than 270 million people are estimated to be acutely food insecure or at high risk in 2021. Also read: In multiple countries, alarm over hunger crisis rings louder WFP’s latest Global Operational Response Plan found that famine - driven by conflict and fueled by climate shocks and the economic downturn caused by the COVID-19 - could soon become a reality for millions of people. The number of people teetering on the brink of famine –has risen from 34 million projected at the beginning of the year to 41 million projected as of June. Without immediate emergency food assistance, they too face starvation as the slightest shock will push them over the cliff into famine. Also read: Achieving Zero Hunger by 2030 in doubt, UN report warns "The situation in 2021 is not business as usual, and it’s getting worse. We are extremely concerned about the world’s most vulnerable people as food prices continue to rise globally," WFP said. WFP is undertaking the biggest operation in its history targeting 139 million people this year. WFP is focused on scaling up life-saving food and nutrition assistance to meet the essential needs of those furthest behind, overcoming access challenges and expanding cash-based transfers with significant scale-ups foreseen across several operations including Ethiopia, Lebanon, Afghanistan, Sudan, and Syria. Also read: Public Development Banks for greater commitment to tackle global hunger, poverty WFP needs US$5 billion in 2021 to avert famine and meet the urgent food and nutrition needs of those people most at risk, but the price of doing nothing is exponentially higher.The $5 billion for famine mitigation is approximately one-third of WFP’s total resourcing needs of $15 billion for 2021.

Some 2,000 flood-affected casual labourers from Kurigram district received an insurance pay-out of Tk 2,700, the WFP said Wednesday.

The head of the World Food Program says the Nobel Peace Prize has given the U.N. agency a spotlight and megaphone to warn world leaders that next year is going to be worse than this year, and without billions of dollars “we are going to have famines of biblical proportions in 2021.”

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and Saudi Arabia's King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre (KSRelief) will provide $1 million each to a programme managed by the World Food Programme (WFP) to rehabilitate cyclone shelters and reduce the risk of disasters in Cox’s Bazar.

The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has reopened its fresh food corners at Rohingya camps in Cox's Bazar, allowing trade and business activities to resume after months of closure due to Covid-19 prevention measures.