TOKYO, 12 March, 2015–The Mitsubishi Corporation has signed an agreement with UNOPS to provide funding to improve food security and livelihoods for rural communities in Myanmar.
The agreement, signed by United Nations Under-Secretary General and UNOPS Executive Director, Ms. Grete Faremo, and Mitsubishi’s General Manager, CSR & Environmental Affairs Department, Mr Yoshiyuki Nojima, is the first private contribution to the multi-donor Livelihoods and Food Security Trust Fund (LIFT), which is managed by UNOPS. LIFT has been working in Myanmar since 2009 to assist the country in its efforts to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger.
“Despite good progress poverty and food security continue to be major challenges in Myanmar,” said United Nations Under-Secretary General and UNOPS Executive Director Ms. Grete Faremo. “One in four people live below the national poverty line. The challenge is immense. The new agreement between UNOPS and Mitsubishi will help LIFT continue its crucial work to reduce rural poverty in the country, which remains one of the poorest in Asia,” she added.
With a contribution of $200,000, Mitsubishi is the first private sector donor to LIFT, which is also funded by the European Union and the governments of Australia, Denmark, France, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States of America. To date, donors have committed $205 million to LIFT. In the spirit of aid effectiveness, funds are pooled to allow for better programme coherence.
“We believe that agriculture is, and will continue to be, a key industry in Myanmar. It is our pleasure to contribute to LIFT, which works for the livelihoods of farmers and supports the development of agriculture in Myanmar. We are proud to be able to become the first private sector donor to LIFT,” said Mitsubishi’s Executive Vice President, Mr.Yasuhito Hirota.
Since 2009, LIFT has reached nearly three million people, or roughly five percent of Myanmar’s population, improving the food security of over 1.3 million people. An estimated 60,000 households have reported an increase in their incomes as a result of LIFT support, and 183,000 households have accessed LIFT-funded microfinance loans for both farming and non-farming purposes. Women represent 87% of people taking microfinance loans.
From left to right: Mr Yoshiyuku Nojima, General Manager, CSR & Environmental Affairs Department at Misubishi Corporation; Ms Grete Faremo, Under Secretary-General and Executive Director of UNOPS; and Mr Sanjay Mathur, Director & Representative of UNOPS Myanmar
Press enquiries
Please contact LIFT’s Communication Officer, Jacquetta Hayes jacquettah@unops.org
