The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) in Bangladesh has welcomed a new contribution of GBP 8 million (USD10,296,010) from the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development (DFID) to support the Rohingya refugee response in Cox’s Bazar.
The new contribution will support WFP to provide 270,600 refugees with life-saving assistance over three months through electronic vouchers (e-vouchers).
This programme allows refugees to purchase a variety of food items from 25 WFP e-voucher outlets across the Rohingya refugee camps.
Families receive an allocation of USD 9 (BDT 770) per person per month to spend at the e-voucher outlets, according to a media release received today (Thursday).
The money is loaded onto a prepaid WFP Assistance Card which families use to choose from food items such as fresh fruit, vegetables, fish, chicken, eggs, spices, and other staples.
The e-voucher outlets are run by local traders, providing economic opportunities to the host community.
As of September 2019, WFP was providing food assistance to over 842,100 refugees per month, half of whom receive food through e-vouchers and the other half receiving in-kind food distributions of rice, lentils, and oil.
With support from DFID, WFP has also piloted a Farmers Market for families currently receiving in-kind assistance, the release added.
The Department for International Development (DFID) has been a generous supporter of WFP activities in Cox’s Bazar.
It previously supported WFP with a contribution of 11.3 million GBP in 2017, 17 million GBP in 2018, and 20.4 million GBP in 2019.
