The U.S. Government’s Feed the Future Program was officially launched in Dushanbe on Tuesday, May 8.
Tajik Deputy Prime Minister Murodali Alimardon, U.S. Ambassador to Tajikistan Ken Gross and USAID Country Director Erin Elizabeth McKee took part in the official ceremony.
Feed the Future is aimed to improve food security in 20 target countries around the globe.
In the next five years the program will be implemented in 12 regions of Khatlon province of Tajikistan helping families and small farms to increase their incomes and food production and improve their nutrition and health.
It has been stressed that the program will help more than 250.000 people from selected regions of Khatlon area to increase their incomes and improve their knowledge in nutrition, improve their access to foodstuffs.
Ambassador Gross said the program will promote healthy lifestyle to reveal obvious and hidden causes of insufficient nutrition and will contribute to improve mother and child health.
“We expect a 9% reduction in poverty level and 11% reduction in growth inhibition in children under 5 years of age in target regions,” he said.
He added that “too many people in Tajikistan suffer from malnutrition.”
“The U.S. Government in partnership with you helps to undertake related measures to provide children in Tajikistan with good nutrition. Together we will develop agriculture for welfare of the people,” Mr.Ken Gross said.
