The contribution was acknowledged at a function this week at the Embassy of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia attended by Mohamed Askar of the King Salman Humanitarian Aid & Relief Centre (KSRelief) and Alpha Bah, WFP Deputy Country Director in Bangladesh.

Distribution started during the holy month of Ramadan, WFP said in a media  release on Thursday. 

The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) distributed the dates to 150,000 children across 7 sub-districts in Barguna, Cox’s Bazar and Jamalpur districts. 

Each child received two kg of dates as take-home rations through WFP’s School Meals Programme.

"KSrelief distributes thousands of tons of dates each year to countries around the world, as part of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s ‘Gift of Dates’ program," stated Dr. Abdallah Al-Rabeeah, Advisor to the Royal Court, and Supervisor General of the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center. 

"The partnership between KSrelief and WFP is crucial in the field of humanitarian action to fight hunger and provide emergency food assistance that will improve the nutritional status of beneficiaries."

“The dates are a special, nutritious treat for the students and their families in some of the poorest regions of Bangladesh,” said Alpha Bah. 

“It is especially welcome to receive this support during the fasting month, and we look forward to continuing our strong partnership with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.”

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has a long history of supporting WFP in Bangladesh and worldwide, including a contribution of USD 970,000 last year in support of the Rohingya refugee response in Cox’s Bazar.