FAO and Government of Bangladesh sign “MUCH”

14/01/2015

Government of Bangladesh (GoB) and FAO-Bangladesh signed a key project document on “Meeting the Under-nutrition Challenge (MUCH)” on Wednesday 14 January to support the government to address insecurity and malnutrition in Bangladesh over the next five years. It will be funded by contributions worth 20 million USD from USAID and European Union (EU).

The agreement was signed by Mr. Mike Robson, FAO Representative in Bangladesh and Mr. Mohammad Mejbahuddin, Senior Secretary, ERD in the presence of representative from USAID, EU Delegation to Bangladesh, and the related ministries of the government.

MUCH paves the way for better cross-sectoral work on food security and nutrition (FSN), and will stimulate further investment in this area – which has lagged behind under the current Country Investment Plan for Food Security (2010-2015).

On behalf of the government, Mr Mejbahuddin welcomed the initiative and highlighted the importance given by government. Ms. Ramona El Hamzaoui, Economic Growth Office Director, USAID Bangladesh emphasized the importance of multi-stakeholder approaches to addressing under-nutrition. She also recognised the key role played by the Ministry of Food’s Food Planning and Monitoring Unit. Mr. Gonzalo Serrano, Head of Rural Development, EU Delegation to Bangladesh, focused attention on the necessity to incorporate civil society and the private sector with the activities undertaken by MUCH.