UAE’s 100 Million Meals drive feeds thousands of Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh

Dubai - The ‘100 Million Meals’ campaign aims to provide food aid to disadvantaged communities in 30 countries.

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By Staff Report

Published: Mon 12 Jul 2021, 1:46 PM

The UAE’s ‘100 Million Meals’ campaign’s food aid distribution has been completed in Bangladesh, providing over 6.4 million meals across refugee camps.

As part of the campaign, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) distributed e-vouchers, helping around 36,000 refugees purchase their own food from stores, shops and bakeries in Rohingya refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar.

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The e-voucher distribution, equipped with biometric identification technologies, was carried out in collaboration with a network of local authorities.

The ‘100 Million Meals’ campaign aims to provide food aid to disadvantaged communities across 30 countries in four continents.

Under a partnership with the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives (MBRGI), the WFP is facilitating food aid in Palestine, Jordan and Bangladesh, where it already operates.

Through e-vouchers, WFP provides beneficiaries with direct access to fresh local produce, fish and poultry from a series of shops and groceries available inside the camps.

Sarah Al Nuaimi, Director at the MBRGI, said: “Collaborating with WFP has enabled swift and accurate food aid distribution in Jordan, Bangladesh and Palestine using iris scans and integrated databases to target people in dire need.

“MBRGI is keen to forge partnerships with regional and international organizations to provide essential needs to the largest scope of beneficiaries across the world.”

Mageed Yahia, WFP Director in the UAE and Representative to the GCC, said: “We are grateful for MBRGI’s valuable contribution in Bangladesh that comes at a time when Rohingya refugees are more vulnerable than at any point since the 2017 influx.

“Food security in Cox’s Bazar remains a top priority, with 96 per cent of all refugees being moderately to highly vulnerable and entirely dependent on humanitarian assistance. Only by building strong long-term partnerships and coming together as communities, we are able to fight hunger and malnutrition among Rohingya refugees and host communities.”

The ‘100 Million Meals’ campaign succeeded in doubling its goal and collecting donations, equivalent to 216 million meals, to be distributed in low-income communities across 30 countries in the Middle East, Asia, Africa, Europe, and Latin America.

Staff Report

Published: Mon 12 Jul 2021, 1:46 PM

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