ROME – The Executive Director of the World Food Programme (WFP), David Beasley, has restated the organization’s commitment to providing food assistance to Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh.
Meeting with the Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina, in Rome on Monday, Beasley thanked her Government for its support to people fleeing violence in Myanmar.
“WFP has been there from day one of this crisis, nearly six months ago, giving food to those who lost everything and fled for their lives. We couldn’t have done it without the generosity of our donors, or without the support of the Government of Bangladesh,” said Beasley.
He added that WFP would continue to help the Rohingya refugees and work with the Government of Bangladesh. Beasley also expressed optimism that the donor community would continue to support the work of organizations such as WFP and help the Rohingya as long as the need remained.
As many as 726,600 refugees have benefited from WFP’s latest round of food distributions; some 113,000 women and young children have received special nutritious food. A further 90,000 people are enrolled in WFP’s e-voucher programs, which enable them to shop for food in designated local stores. WFP needs US$27.3 million every month to carry out its work in Cox’s Bazar.
WFP is grateful for contributions from Australia, Canada, Denmark, the European Union (ECHO), Germany, Italy, Japan, Kuwait, Luxembourg, Switzerland, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, the UN Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF), Thailand, the UK, the USA and private and corporate donors.
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The World Food Programme is the 2020 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate and the world’s leading humanitarian organization, saving lives in emergencies and using food assistance to build a pathway to peace, stability and prosperity for people recovering from conflict, disasters and the impact of climate extremes.
For more information, please contact (email address: [email protected]):
Shelley Thakral, WFP/Cox’s Bazar, Mob.+88 01755 64 2150
Silke Buhr, WFP/Bangkok, Mob. +66-81-701-9208
Jane Howard, WFP/Rome, Tel. +39 06 65132321, Mob. +39 346 7600521
Francis Mwanza, WFP/London, Tel. +44 20 3857 7411, Mob. +44 7968 008474
Bettina Luescher, WFP/Geneva, Tel. +41 22 917 8564, Mob. + 41-79-842-8057
Steve Taravella, WFP/New York, Tel. +1-646-556-6909, Mob. 1-202-770-5993
Challiss McDonough, WFP/Washington DC, Tel. +1-202-653-1149, Mob. +1-202-774-4026
