By: Kebba AF Touray
In light of the COVID-19 Pandemic and its unavoidable socio-economic consequences, the European Union has scaled up the BReST Project support to Gambian women and children.
BReST which is a successful EU funded cash transfer project for nutrition and social protection, targets pregnant and lactating mothers with children under the age of two and has been under implementation since 2017.
The EU’s decision to increase funding for the successful project of building of resilience through social transfers (BReST) is being implemented by UNICEF, the National Nutrition Agency (NaNA) and Ministry of Women, Children and Social Welfare.
This development was disclosed in a press statement issued by the EU on Monday 27th April 2020, in line with the EU’s response to the global COVID-19 outbreak. The EU press statement states that this increase of 11,000,000.00 Gambian Dalasi (209,000.00 EUR), will be used to fund the new ”COVID-19 Cash Transfer response activities.
According to the press statement, this activity will target the most vulnerable households in the BReST project being implemented in the Regions of CRR, URR and NBR and it involves the provision of immediate cash transfers of 1,500 GMD per mother and child pair.
“The transfer will be used as an immediate stop gap to purchase essential food and hygiene items to combat the spread of COVID 19. The transfer is intended to be by cash or more likely by mobile money to 6,000 mother-child pairs using details already held by UNICEF and NaNA. The EU stands in support of the Gambian people in their efforts to combat the spread of COVID 19,’’ EU Ambassador to the Republic of The Gambia Attila LAJOS, said.
