Bangladesh: Tropical Cyclone Bijli - Apr 2009

DHAKA, 22 July 2010 (IRIN) - Rising unemployment and food prices and a sluggish economy are taking their toll on Bangladesh, where a growing number of people are struggling to survive.

"If I do not get work tomorrow or become ill, all my family members will go hungry," said Nur Islam, a 45-year-old Dhaka resident who hauls a rickshaw around town for US$3 a day to feed his wife and three children.

About 40 percent of Bangladesh's 160 million people live on less than $1 a day and are food insecure, according to government figures, and a rapidly expanding population - …

Sonali Huria

Research Officer, IPCS

e-mail: sonali@ipcs.org

Bangladesh, Cambodia and the Maldives recently signed an agreement with the European Union (EU), which is aimed at assisting developing countries, particularly Small Island Developing States (SIDS) in Asia to battle the onslaught of climate change. As per the agreement, the EU will provide 13.5 million Euros to the three countries, of which the biggest chunk, 8.5 million, will be granted to Bangladesh with the remaining amount being distributed among the other two.

DHAKA, 9 December 2009 (IRIN) - With a growing number of older people and a large impoverished population, Bangladesh needs to improve social security support for the country's most vulnerable groups, experts say.

Over 6 percent of the population or 7.2 million people are aged 60 or over, according to the last census in 2001.

About 80,000 people are added to this older population every year, which is projected to be over 17 million people by 2025, growing at a rate faster than that of …

DHAKA, 6 DECEMBER 2009 -- The World Food Programme's first Chinese Ambassador Against Hunger, the legendary gymnast Li Ning, arrived in Bagra today to meet some of the 400,000 women and children who have received China's help. He was accompanied by representatives of the Chinese Embassy and Ministry of Agriculture, which has donated more than US$2 million to WFP Bangladesh over the past two years.

Today I met women and children who struggle each day to get enough to eat.

DHAKA / GENEVA -- The UN independent experts on human rights, water and sanitation, Catarina de Albuquerque*, and on human rights and extreme poverty, Magdalena Sep=FAlveda**, will visit Bangladesh from 3-10 December to collect first hand information about on the relationship between access to safe drinking water, sanitation and poverty.

"In Bangladesh, extreme poverty is interrelated with limited or lack of access to safe drinking water and sanitation," said the experts in a joint statement before starting the country visit at the invitation of the Government.

U.S. AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
BUREAU FOR DEMOCRACY, CONFLICT, AND HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE (DCHA)

DHAKA, 21 October 2009 (IRIN) - Fishermen and experts agree: climate change is taking its toll in the world's largest bay, with more sudden changes in atmospheric pressure and storms.

"Global climate change is responsible for the increasing number of tropical storms in the Bay of Bengal," A.Q.M.

Executive summary

In the context of Asia Pacific Zone, its demographic, socio-economic and environmental trends, and the International Federation's strategic priorities, South Asia remains one of the most disadvantaged regions in the world and is vulnerable to health and disaster-related risks due to poor socio-economic conditions. The region has some of the highest levels of poverty, being home to about half of the world's poor (1).

Period covered by this Operations Update: January 2009 to June 2009

Appeal target (Tsunami emergency and recovery revised plan and budget 2005-2010 issued on 13 March 2009): CHF 706.4 million (USD 606.5 million or EUR 473.4 million);

Appeal coverage: 100%;

Appeal history:

- This emergency appeal was initially launched on a preliminary basis on 26 December 2004, for CHF 7,517,000 (USD 6,658,712 or EUR 4,852,932) for six months to assist 500,000 beneficiaries.

- Disaster Relief Emergency Fund (DREF): CHF 1,000,000 was initially allocated from the Federation's DREF to …

DHAKA, Oct 20, 2009 (Xinhua via COMTEX) -- 20 million Bangladeshi people need to be relocated by 2050 due to climate change 20 million Bangladeshi people need to be relocated by 2050 due to climate change

Bangladeshi State Minister for Environment and Forest Hasan Mahmud Tuesday said Bangladesh would need about 20 million people to be relocated by 2050 due to the climate change, national news agency BSS reported.

"These are, no doubt, horrifying scenarios, but a very real one, " he said while presenting the country paper at the 8th Meeting of the South Asian Association for …

New York, 14 octobre 2009 - Malgré l'existence de traitements peu couteux et efficaces, la diarrhée tue plus d'enfants que le sida, le paludisme et la rougeole réunis, selon un rapport publié aujourd'hui par l'UNICEF et l'Organisation mondiale pour la santé (OMS).

Le rapport, intitulé, Diarrhée - Pourquoi les enfants meurent encore et ce que l'on peut faire, contient des informations sur les causes des maladies diarrhéiques, des données sur l'accès aux moyens de prévention et de traitement, et un plan en 7 points pour réduire les décès dus à la diarrhée.

« …

The Economics of Adaptation to Climate Change study (EACC) will inform the international community's efforts to provide new and additional resources to developing countries through a better understanding of the global costs of adapting to climate change. It will also help decision makers at the national level to better cost, prioritize, sequence and integrate robust adaptation strategies into their development plans and budgets.

Climate Change Vulnerability in Bangladesh

With 140 million people, Bangladesh is one of the world's densest nations and also one of the most …

Climate change-related disaster unleashed on coastal communities in southwest Bangladesh

Heavy monsoon rains, which arrived much later than normal this year, have stranded hundreds of thousands in southeast coastal region in Bangladesh and threatened livelihoods. Communities in southwest have a long history of resilience against natural calamities like tidal surges and cyclones. But increased frequency and intensity of cyclones and tidal surges put them on the frontlines of climate change. The region was wrecked by cyclone SIDR in November 2007 leaving a trail of death and devastation.

General Assembly
Sixty-fourth session
Item 72 (a) of the provisional agenda
Strengthening of the coordination of humanitarian and
disaster relief assistance of the United Nations, including
special economic assistance: strengthening of the coordination

(extract)

The Netherlands offered assistance to Bangladesh in facing the challenges stemming from the global climate change. Dutch Ambassador in Bangladesh Bea Ten Tusscher gave the assurance when she paid a farewell call on Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in Dhaka yesterday. The Prime Minister said, Bangladesh as the most vulnerable country to climate change deserves high-level international support, technological and financial assistance in its climate change adaptation and mitigation programmes. She mentioned the government's plan for river dredging, reclaiming land, constructing …

Highlights

Domestic food prices in developing countries mostly remain much higher than before the soaring food price crisis despite a sharp decline in international prices since their peaks in 2008 (see special feature inside). This situation continues to give rise to concern for the food security of low-income vulnerable populations who spend a large share of their incomes on food.

FAO's latest forecast points to a 3.4 percent reduction in world cereal production in 2009, mostly on account of lower plantings and yields among developed countries.

Dhaka, 14 July 2009: The United Nations World Food Prgoramme (WFP) today welcomed a US $9.1 million contribution from the Government of Japan to provide food assistance to the ultra-poor living in areas to floods, riverbank erosion, coastal cyclones and tidal surges.

WFP will use the Japanese funds to distribute some 26, 928 metric tons of wheat to 300,000 extreme poor people in the disaster prone highly flood insecure areas including chars/haor basin around three major rivers Jamuna, Padma and Brahmaputra.

The UK is today launching a major action plan to protect 15 million of the world's poorest people from the devastating impact of climate change in some of most high-risk flood areas on the planet.

A fifth of Bangladesh - an area almost twice the size of London - could disappear if seas levels rise by one metre.

This report covers the period 1 January to 30 June 2009.

In brief

This report covers the period 1 January to 30 June 2009.

In brief

Programme purpose: As outlined in the 2009-10 plan, the aim of the International Federation South Asia regional office is to increase the capacity of the South Asian national societies to provide services that improve the lives of vulnerable people.

Programme(s) summary: The first half of 2009 saw the finalising of some of the disaster risk reduction (DRR) work started in 2008.