Japanese grant for mother, child health and nutrition

Kathmandu, 20 February: Japan has decided to extend grant assistance worth US$ 3.47 million to the United Nations World Food Programme (UN WFP) Nepal for implementing the mother and child health and nutrition programme in five vulnerable districts of Provinces 1 and 2. Japanese ambassador Saigo Masamichi and Ms Susan Jane Pearce, representative and Country Director of WFP Nepal a.i. signed a grant contract in Kathmandu Friday.

At the signing, the ambassador remarked that the grant will improve the health and nutrition of children and young mothers in Jhapa, Morang, and Sunsari districts of Province 1, and Saptari and Siraha districts of Province 2, which are prone to extreme weather events and other climate change-linked disasters. “This partnership between the Japanese Government, the Government of Nepal, and WFP has the potential to improve the health and nutrition of 19,000 children aged 6 to 23 months and 49,700 pregnant and breastfeeding mothers through specialized nutritious food, while 25,000 households will benefit from the establishment of Community Food Banks equipped with food storage facilities,” he added.

“By investing in the capacity of the government at different levels to implement nutrition programmes, the support will boost the ability of 2,500 government officials and health specialists to provide improved health and nutrition services during pregnancy and childbirth, to monitor child growth, and to provide nutrition counselling at 100 municipal health facilities. Ms Pearce, Country Director of WFP Nepal a.i thanked the Government of Japan for the generous support.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has severely disrupted the livelihoods of vulnerable populations mainly in rural locations where agriculture is the primary source of income,” she said. “By supporting the production and consumption of locally available and traditionally consumed nutritious food and through shockresponsive community food banks, we hope that this project will increase dietary diversity among the poor and food-insecure households and build community resilience to climatic shocks,” she added.