The New Nation - Internet Edition

BUSINESS REPORTER

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) will provide approximately 90,000 mts. of food aid worth $67.8 million to Bangladesh this year. One third of the food aid will be used to assist Cyclone Sidr affected people of Barguna and Bagerhat districts and the rest will be distributed as part of USAID's regular food aid programs in the flood prone and seasonally food insecure areas of the country.

USAID supported food aid programs target the poorest of the poor who live in the most food insecure and vulnerable areas of the country. USAID food aid assistance is designed to bridge the gap between disaster response and development by supporting planning and preparedness activities. USAID has helped build 245 multi-purpose disaster shelters, developed about 4,000 community-based disaster mitigation structures, and established a stockpile of emergency disaster kits for 30,000 families.

USAID provided training to local disaster committees, volunteers and school teachers in 271 of the country's 277 disaster-prone sub-districts. The program focuses on protection of assets by raising homesteads, and by building raised access roads to markets and schools. The program develops alternate livelihood options for the ultra-poor through activities such as poultry raising, dairy farming, and vegetable gardening.

The program also provides a safety net for the poor through food and cash for work projects. In all, program activities are helping 4 million people in more than 3,000 villages. USAID's $167 million Food Security and Disaster Management Program addresses disaster risk mitigation and adaptation to climate change threats over the next five years.

USAID has provided more than $19 million in emergency funds to support relief and early recovery activities since Cyclone Sidr made landfall in southern Bangladesh on November 15, 2007. The U.S. Government continues to monitor the recovery and reconstruction efforts to help rebuild the cyclone affected areas in Bangladesh.

USAID is the principal U.S. Government agency that provides development assistance in more than 100 countries around the world. From 1971 to 2007, USAID has provided more than $5 billion in development assistance to Bangladesh, with over half of that amount in food aid. In 2007, USAID provided $82 million in development assistance to the people of Bangladesh.