General News
Bangladesh: EU support food security for disabled people
Together with seven local partners, DCDD members ICCO, The Leprosy Mission and Dark & Light Blind Care will cooperate to improve food security in Bangladesh. People with a disability receive special attention in this programme. Recently the European Commission has approved the project proposal with a five year budget of 11,471,212 euro. The European Union will provide 80% of the budget, the other 20% will be covered by the Dutch Government and fundraising.
Participation of disabled people The project is focussed on the poorest of the poor in the Gaibandha region of Bangladesh. It aims to increase the income of 40.000 households living under the poverty line of 1 US$ a day. Extra attention is given to participation of disabled people in the programme, through treatment, rehabilitation services and inclusion of disabled people in women groups and income generating activities. Expertise
Complementing expertise of all participating partners, in agriculture, fisheries, income generation, disability and programme management, will increase the impact and sustainability of the programme. International recognition
The three DCDD members are proud of the approval of the proposal by the European Commission. It signifies an important international recognition of their work.
According to Matthijs Nederveen of Dark & Light Blind Care, mainstreaming disability - being a major part of the proposal - contributed to acceptance by the Commission. EU officials in Bangladesh confirmed that reaching people with a disability in the project was one of the reasons for the EU's enthusiasm about the project.
DCDD is happy that including disability apparently played an important part in the decision making process. Source: http://www.dcdd.nl/default.asp?action=article&id=3930
