Attachments
In Numbers
927.5 mt food distributed
US$15.3 million distributed in cash-based transfer
US$59.13 million net funding requirements under the country strategic plan (February – July 2025)
1.2 million people assisted
Operational Updates
Emergency responses to eastern floods
• In January, WFP supported over 132,000 people affected by the August eastern floods with unconditional cash transfers and cash-for-work assistance in Feni, Noakhali, and Laxmipur districts.
WFP transferred US$1 million to beneficiaries' accounts, including around US$631,000 for cashfor-work and US$478,400 in unconditional cash.
• WFP completed the reconstruction of 320 km of roads and road-cum-embankments, and cleaning of canal clog in January through cash-for-work. This 20-day initiative, which began in October, engaged 17,100 participants working in different slots. The completed works benefited 913,440 people and protected 17,521 acres of agricultural land.
Nutrition based programmes
Rice Fortification
• The distribution of fortified rice under the Vulnerable Women Benefit programme (VWBP) has been temporarily paused as beneficiary selection process is underway, with distribution expected to resume in February. Meanwhile, 7 million people were reached through various promotional strategies, including social media campaigns and national TV announcements.
• To further promote awareness, WFP is engaging Rohingya communities through Radio Naf, a popular Burmese-language station, with live call-in sessions, dramas, and expert discussions. In Cox’s Bazar, WFP organized a workshop for 45 rice industry stakeholders and is implementing a commercial market activation programme targeting modern retail shops and traditional markets.
School Feeding capacity strengthening
• WFP participated in the 3rd Project Evaluation Committee meeting at the Planning Commission, where the committee reviewed the Development Project Proposal and requested further revisions.
WFP will support the Ministry of Primary and Mass Education and the Directorate of Primary Education in updating the proposal as per the requirements.
Resilience
• WFP and the Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief jointly organized an impact evaluation workshop on the Integrated Risk Management programme, implemented from 2018 to 2024 with support from the Korea International Cooperation Agency. Six women representing 6,000 programme participants from Kurigram highlighted how various forms of support, climate-resilient income generating activities, such as mushroom and pumpkin cultivation, have transformed their lives.
• WFP and the Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief released the “State of Anticipatory Action” report highlighting the transformative potential of anticipatory action (AA) in disaster risk management.
Plans for 2025 include expanding AA frameworks to 23 districts, improving targeting through a centralized database, exploring risk pools and insurance and integrating AA into national disaster management plans for sustainability.
Social Protection
• WFP supported the Department of Women Affairs (DWA) to facilitate training sessions on Mother and Child Benefit Programme (MCBP) implementation directives, with 40 participants from various organizations to equip participants with the knowledge and skills needed to effectively implement programme.
• With WFP’s technical assistance, the VWBP and MCBP unit of DWA has procured a one-time password verification system to enhance the security and protection of the programme’s management information system.
Rohingya refugee response
• WFP provided food and nutrition assistance, along with livelihoods support to over a million Rohingya refugees including the new arrivals in Cox’s Bazar.
• In January, three fire incidents in Cox’s Bazar camps caused significant damage, displacing 89 households and leaving 427 people homeless. Essential infrastructure, including sanitation facilities and NGO offices, was also affected. WFP provided immediate food assistance – a one-time fortified biscuits distribution, followed by hot meals.
• All Rohingya children enrolled in the 3,388 learning centres – 211,000 of them – continued receiving WFP’s fortified biscuits as part of the school feeding programme. In the host communities, 55,900 children in 212 government primary schools received WFP’s school feeding assistance.
• WFP provided malnutrition management and prevention services at 179 sites in Cox’s Bazar camps,
Bangladeshi communities, and on Bhasan Char island.