Award AID-FFP-A-15-00012 WV Nobo Jatra FY20 ARR

The project aims to improve gender equitable food security, nutrition, and resilience of vulnerable communities in Koyra, Dacope, Kaliganj, and Shyamnagar sub-districts. The project targets 856,116 direct participants with multi-sectoral interventions in Water Sanitation and Hygiene, Maternal Child Health and Nutrition, gender, agriculture, and alternative livelihoods, disaster risk reduction, and good governance and social accountability. The project is led by World Vision Bangladesh, in partnership with the World Food Programme and Winrock International as sub-grantees. The consortium partnership with WFP ended on September 30, 2020, but WFP will finalize some outstanding activities with their own funds. The project's goal for Fiscal Year 20 (FY20) was to facilitate, scale back on implementation, and strengthen service delivery models through partnerships and handover to relevant Government departments, private sector actors, and communities. However, with the onset of the COVID-19 crisis, two cyclones - cyclone Bulbul in November 2019 and cyclone Amphan in May 2020 - and continuous flooding in Koyra sub-district, the project had to pivot to implement a COVID-19 response, a cyclone Amphan response, and lay the groundwork for a flood response. The project diverted its existing FY20 resources to implement these responses, with BHA and Government of Bangladesh (GoB) approval. Due to COVID-19, the expected start date of the two-year cost extension was postponed from October 1, 2020, to October 1, 2021, to allow for a twelve-month bridge phase Cost Extension (CE). The project's geographic focus is on four Upazilas (sub-districts) in Khulna Division: Dacope and Koyra of Khulna district, and Shyamnagar and Kaliganj of Satkhira district. The project's goal is to improve the nutritional status of children under five years of age, pregnant and lactating women, and adolescent girls, as well as increase equitable household income and strengthen gender equitable ability of people, households, communities, and systems to mitigate, adapt to, and recover from natural shocks and stresses. The project's implementation is led by World Vision Bangladesh, with World Food Programme and Winrock International as sub-grantees. The project's budget will be adjusted accordingly upon BHA confirmation (in Q1 FY21) of FY21 funds. The project's activities and results will be included in WFP's final close-out narrative report. The project's fiscal year 2020 was initially focused on facilitation, scaling back on implementation, and strengthening service delivery models through partnerships and handover to relevant Government departments, private sector actors, and communities. However, with the onset of the COVID-19 crisis, the project had to pivot to implement a COVID-19 response, a cyclone Amphan response, and lay the groundwork for a flood response. The project diverted its existing FY20 resources to implement these responses, with BHA and Government of Bangladesh (GoB) approval.