The "Partnership for Resilient Livelihoods in the CHT Region" project is being officially launched today (14 June) at a city hotel in Dhaka, with funding from the European Union in collaboration with UNDP Bangladesh and Manusher Jonno Foundation (MJF) to alleviate poverty and improve the livelihoods of extremely low-income households in the Chattogram Hill Tracts (CHT).

The four-year long project will be implemented in the districts of Rangamati, Bandarban and Khagrachari with a budget of EUR 8 million.

The project intends to work closely with the Ministry of Chittagong Hill Tracts Affairs (MoCHTA), Chittagong Hill Tracts Regional Council (CHTRC), three Hill District Councils (HDCs), relevant line departments, local elites and leaders in CHT.

The launching ceremony was held in the presence of Chief Guest Bir Bahadur U Shwe Sing, MP, the Minister of the Ministry of CHT Affairs (MoCHTA), the Government of Bangladesh, Special Guest, Mongsueprou Chowdhury, Chairman of Khagrachari Hill District Council, Secretary Mashiur Rahman, ndc, the Ministry of CHT Affairs (MoCHTA), Government of Bangladesh, Charles Whiteley, the EU Ambassador & Heads of Delegation to Bangladesh and Van  Nguyen, Deputy Resident Representative of UNDP, Bangladesh among others.

The Chief Guest, Bir Bahadur U Shwe Sing, MP, the Minister of the Ministry of CHT Affairs (MoCHTA), during his speech, noted the importance of this collaboration with multiple partners and said, “The government is dedicatedly working in CHT to alleviate poverty and improve livelihoods. We deeply appreciate our development partners working alongside the government to achieve our goals in the CHT region. This project, launched under the joint management of Manusher Jonno Foundation and UNDP Bangladesh, will help take our development goals forward.”

"Together with UNDP and Manusher Jonno Foundation, the PRLC project will create a sustained pathway out of poverty in the most vulnerable area of the CHT region, with special attention to livelihood promotion for the extremely poor, expansion of nutrition services, community mobilisation, and market development. Issues like gender equity, women empowerment, and disability inclusion will be the core of the project," said European Union Ambassador to Bangladesh, Charles Whiteley, while speaking as a special guest.

Meanwhile, Van Nguyen, while welcoming the esteemed guests to the ceremony, noted that “EU and UNDP have been working with the Government of Bangladesh for many years with a focus to alleviate poverty, achieve SDGs, and graduate from LDCs.  UNDP, together with MoCHTA, has been supporting the capacity building of the CHT institutions and communities during the last two decades, and the EU was one of the major contributors to UNDP’s project funding in the region. We highly appreciate the EU’s firm engagement through this PRLC project to support the CHT communities and institutions.”

“The project will work very closely with MoCHTA, CHT Regional Council, and Hill District Councils on policy and other important issues, including facilitating discussions on achieving SDGs, harmonisation of laws and supporting the Land Commission. We hope that the project will be able to make a positive change in the CHT,” she further added.

Executive Director of Manusher Jonno Foundation Shaheen Anam gave the welcome speech at the launching ceremony, where she expressed hope that the PRLC project will improve the living standards of people in the three CHT districts.

The event was presided over by Nirupa Dewan, MJF’s governing board member.