Bangladesh Red Crescent Society has started the distribution of Ramadan food packs among 15,300 poor families hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic in the country. With the support of Qatar Red Crescent Society, the food packages are being distributed among the poor depending on daily labour in the capital and several districts. Of them, 500 families are getting the food support in Dhaka city, while 1,000 families in Rajshahi city, 1,000 others in Rajshahi district, 500 families each in Narsingdi, Munshiganj and Narayanganj districts, as well as 10,300 families from displaced Rohingya living in Ukhia Camp-11 and local community in Ukhia of Cox’s Bazar. Also read: Local Red Crescent chapter receives 4 ambulances equipped against COVID-19 Besides, 1,000 other families are receiving  food assistance through the headquarters of Bangladesh Red Crescent Society. The food packages are also being distributed maintaining the health hygiene rules amid the Covid-19 pandemic, said a press release on Sunday. Ultra-poor, helpless, disability and low-income families are given priority in the selection of beneficiaries for the food assistance. Also read: Covid-19: Red Crescent Society launches isolation, treatment centers in Cox's Bazar Date, pulse, soybean oil, sugar, salt, puffed rice, chira, chickpea, and vermicelli are included  in the food packs. Director of Disaster Response Division of the Society Mizanur Rahman said the distribution of Ramadan food packages is a part of the humanitarian assistance of the Red Crescent Society.     “The Ramadan food packages will be distributed among total 15,300 families,” he said. Also read: Red Crescent donates PPE to 4 Covid-19 dedicated hospitals Besides, under the initiative of Red Crescent Society, the distribution of cooked healthy food among extreme poor and low-income floating people continue in Dhaka, Chattogram, Habiganj, Barguna, Munshiganj and Sunamganj amid the Covid-19 lockdown. A total of 8,016 packets of cooked food were distributed among the poor from April 18 to April 22 last during the lockdown, said Mizanur Rahman. Moreover, the disbursement of food packages among 4,000 extreme poor and low-income people in both Amphan and Covid-19-affected four districts – Khulna, Satkira, Bagerhat and Pirojpur – continues under the initiative of the society with the support from HSBC bank. Read Covid-19 in Bangladesh: PM allocates Tk 10.50cr for affected poor

The South Asian Network on Economic Modeling (SANEM) on Saturday said the percentage of the population living below the poverty line (upper poverty line) has nearly doubled from 21.6% in 2018 to 42% in 2020, while the percentage of extreme poor (lower poverty line) trebled from 9.4% in 2018 to 28.5% in 2020.

 Grameen Shikkha (Grameen Education), one of the organisations in the Grameen family, has identified 163 families with 815 members and arranging emergency food support for them for three months.   The ideal food package comprises 7kg rice, 1kg lentil, 1litre cooking oil, 5kg potatoes and a piece of bath soap for a week, said a media release.    GS has been conducting different development programmes for the poor, especially poor children and students for more than two decades. Its programmes have directly benefited more than 360,000 people.   One of the programmes of Shikkha is the non-formal primary school programmes, popularly called as “Slum School,” conducted in the slums of Mirpur 10, 11, 12 and 13.    There are 39 such schools, which are providing five years primary education to nearly 1,500 poor, slum children.