Livestock Treatment and Vaccination Programme

In a project funded by the European Commission and managed by the World Food Programme in collaboration with the Government of Bangladesh, Muslim Aid has implemented a £1.87 million safety net programme for vulnerable groups affected by high food prices and natural disasters in Pirajpur and Bhola Districts.  In the final stage of the project Muslim Aid made an extra effort to ensure the livestock purchased with the cash grant would provide long-term benefit and not succumb to disease by organising free vaccination through liaising with the local government livestock office. 

This project is part of an integrated programme to assist extremely poor households through an integrated approach of nutritional support, agricultural inputs, cash for work and cash grants for income generation which provided:-

• Nutritional support for malnourished pregnant and lactating mothers and malnourished children in 80 centres for 2,337 families over a six month period which also included referral service for the severely malnourished as well as guidance and training on nutrition, health and hygiene.  A local recipe for dealing with malnourished children was also taught to the beneficiaries.

• A total of 7,156 beneficiaries were provided with seeds, fruit saplings, tools and training for homestead gardening to improve family nutrition.

• A cash for work programme provided cash income for 11,300 families to help provide funds for restoring livelihoods and adequate nutrition.

• The cash for work programme was also designed for disaster mitigation by repairing embankments and improving agricultural productivity by restoring irrigation canals. A total of 50 schemes were implemented under this programme. The 6.55 km embankment constructed in Bhola will serve the dual purpose of protection against water intrusion due to cyclones and tidal surges will also be part of a new national highway which will through two bridges link Bhola island to the mainland reducing the four hour journey from Barisal to Bhola to one hour benefitting the whole population of Bhola island.

• From the 11,300 families 32% of the ultra-poor women were selected for livelihood support by providing a cash grant of Tk. 14,000 (£136) with which they purchased goats, cows and ducks.

The final component, a cash grant would, it was estimated, enable the beneficiaries to earn between Taka 2,000 (£20) to 3,000 (£30) per month.  In group meetings facilitated by Muslim Aid, the beneficiaries developed their individual business plans and underwent training sessions on one of the six different livelihood options they had chosen: rearing cows, goats, ducks or poultry, a tree nursery or seaweed collection and processing. The grant was distributed to each participant to enable them to purchase the asset with which they would start their income generating activities. Muslim Aid distributed a total Taka 26,922,000 (£262,000) as a cash grant through 79 IGA (Income Generating Activities) groups made up of 1,736 participants in the Bhola Sadar and Daulatkhan Upazillas of Bhola District. 

With the aim of preventing disease in their livestock which could result in them losing their newly-acquired asset, Muslim Aid, in collaboration with District livestock office organised free treatment and vaccination of the livestock for all participants. Muslim Aid was praised by WFP for this initiative which was an extra service not envisaged in the original proposal and asked all other WFP partners in this programme to follow Muslim Aid’s lead.