WB gives BD $858m for climate resilient, road safety

Staff Reporter :
Bangladesh has received $858 million from the World Bank (WB) to improve climate resilient agricultural growth, food security and improvement of road safety.
Bangladesh and the World Bank signed two financing agreements on Wednesday.
Sharifa Khan, Secretary, Economic Relations Division and Abdoulaye Seck, World Bank Country Director for Bangladesh and Bhutan signed the agreements on behalf of their respective organizations, said a press release issued by the WB Dhaka office.

As per agreement, the $500 million Program on Agricultural and Rural Transformation for Nutrition, Entrepreneurship, and Resilience (PARTNER) will help transform the agriculture sector by promoting crop diversification, food safety, and climate resilience across agri-food systems of Bangladesh. The program will support sustainable and nutritious food production through greater efficiency in input use, good agriculture practices, and the promotion of stress-tolerant and nutrient-dense varieties. It will help increase entrepreneurship and access to services by expanding access to digital agricultural services tools, improved food safety processes, and increased female and youth entrepreneurship.

It will also help modernize institutions and policies through improved data management, increased research and development activities, and partnerships with global agricultural research institutions and the private sector.
The $358 million Road Safety Project-which is the first dedicated road safety project in South Asia supported by the World Bank-will help the country improve road safety and reduce deaths and injuries from road traffic crashes on selected high-risk highways and district roads. In two national highways-N4 (Gazipur-Elenga) and N6 (Natore to Nawabganj)-the project will pilot comprehensive road safety measures, including improved engineering designs, signing and marking, pedestrian facilities, speed enforcement, and emergency care.

It will help modernize the capacity of the Traffic Police and highway patrol to manage speeding and prevent risky road user behavior. To improve post-crash care, it will set up an ambulance service via a toll-free number and upgraded emergency care services in selected district hospitals, and Upazila Health Complexes along the two national highway corridors.