Standard Project Report 2016 situation by being physically present at the shops.
Suggestions were also made to provide better lighting in communal facilities so that women can more easily access them at night, separate classes for adolescent girls in the camp schools and the recruitment of female doctors and teachers.
Focus group discussions have highlighted that girls are still likely to be pulled out of schools when they reach puberty, though this practice may be decreasing as parents’ attitudes towards girls’ education is improving. Child marriage remains prevalent despite it being discouraged by camp authorities. It was observed that parents consider it a way to prevent their daughters from eloping, leaving the camps on their own, being subjected to trafficking, or being subjected to reputation-damaging camp gossip. Some suggested that providing incentives specific to girls for regular school attendance or having a separate school for girls may help reduce the dropout rate of adolescent girls, which will in turn reduce child marriage.
The FoodCard has improved protection and accountability by providing a more secure means to ensure that food assistance reaches beneficiaries. Biometric identity verification ensures that the food reaches the right people and reduces the chance of theft. Through the SCOPE software, WFP is able to track the issues with the system and conduct cross-checks before processing financial transactions. This year, necessary circumvention of the biometric accountability systems in order to attend problematic cases has reduced by 38 percent.
WFP has continued to seek feedback through a helpdesk, through enhanced working-level communication and coordination with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees( UNHCR) on protection issues, and through discussions with female refugees in focus groups. People are able to raise grievances, provide feedback or make inquiries directly to WFP field monitors through a complaints box and a telephone hotline, and indirectly through UNHCR staff. Most interactions are related to eligibility for the dummy FoodCard interactions. The women reported that they have referred any safety and protection issues, or other difficulties related to FoodCards, to the project management committee. The concerns are always discussed and solutions are suggested at the following meeting.
WFP / UNHCR Joint Assessment Mission
In 2016, WFP and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees( UNHCR) completed a Joint Assessment Mission( JAM) for the two official refugee camps in Bangladesh, the ninth of its kind since refugees from Myanmar settled in Ukhiya and Teknaf upazilas between 1991 and 1992. The last one was completed in 2012.
The mission found that since the last JAM, the prospects for a durable solution to the protracted situation of the refugees in Kutupalong and Nayapara camps have not changed. Voluntary repatriation to Myanmar is still not a viable option as the conditions there have not improved. It also noted a deterioration in overall refugee security inside both camps and, in line with the prolonged nature, a complex mix of people actually living in the camp, including unregistered refugees and Bangladeshis.
Overall camp services are seriously stretched and problems of space constraints and resource limitations are evident in all areas. There is clearly a major problem with overcrowding and the provision of adequate living space for a growing refugee population and continuing family expansion. Thus, UNHCR has lobbied the Government for expansion of the living space available to refugees.
The current food assistance system is functioning well. The change in the general food ration modality from the in-kind assistance to the electronic voucher system, based on a more acceptable de facto / nuclear family unit and utilising a biometric identification system, has improved the situation considerably. It has proven to be popular with the refugees as it has provided flexibility and a choice of commodities. It has also been successful in supporting the local market and increasing the availability of local produce. The refugees also generally approved of its role in improving the position of senior women in the households by making them the primary card holders.
The JAM confirmed that while the supplementary feeding programmes were operating well, undernutrition levels remained unacceptably high in both camps. The 2015 Standardised Expanded Nutrition Survey( SENS) showed stunting levels at 55 percent( 52 percent in Kutupalong, 56 percent in Nayapara), well above the World Health Organization( WHO)‘ very high’ severity threshold, greater than the surrounding communities( 42 percent in Ukhiya and Teknaf upazilas), and more than the Bangladesh national average( 36 percent). The Global Acute Malnutrition( GAM) prevalence is 13 percent overall( 12.5 percent in Kutupalong, 13 percent in Nayapara), which is considered‘ serious’ by WHO. Both chronic and acute malnutrition rates are highest amongst the youngest age group, 6-17 months. This is particularly surprising given that blanket malnutrition prevention feeding is provided for all children aged 6 to 23 months and all pregnant and lactating women. A Knowledge, Attitude and Practice( KAP) survey to determine household practices has been recommended, to develop a more effective nutritional and health
Bangladesh, People ' s Republic of( BD) 18 Single Country PRRO- 200673