Bangladesh: Humanitarian Response and Recovery Plan – Monsoon Floods (August 2019-April 2020)

INTRODUCTION

Despite the delayed onset of the monsoon, heavy rainfall occurred during the first half of July which triggered widespread flooding.
Floods damaged and destroyed vital infrastructures including 6,641 kilometers of roads, 1,275 bridges and culverts as well as 1,515 kilometers of embankments. With the support of the Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief (MoDMR), the humanitarian community conducted a Joint Needs Assessment (JNA). Among the 28 districts affected by the floods, the JNA report identified nine (9) most severely affected districts: Jamalpur, Kurigram, Gaibandha, Sylhet, Sirajganj, Tangail, Sunamganj, Bogura, Bandarban. In those districts, 85% of the overall displacement occurred equivalent to 261,499 persons including 57,406 school-age children (29,407 boys and 28,002 girls). Among the displaced population, 239,387 persons are still living in makeshift shelters (schools, colleges) or on embankments and some returned as water started to recede in their areas. Associated riverbank erosion permanently displaced more than 8,000 people equivalent to 1,654 households in Kurigram, Bogura and Tangail districts.
The Humanitarian Coordination Task Team (HCTT) met on 28 July 2019 to share the outcomes of the JNA. An inter-cluster meeting took place thereafter to plan for a coordinated response for complementing the Government-led response to the people in need. The humanitarian community agreed to pursue a 2-phase approach during a nine-month period: Immediate Humanitarian Assistance from August to November 2019 and, a Recovery phase from December 2019 to April 2020. Out of the 28 districts affected by the floods, nine (9) districts are prioritized due to the intensity and the severity of the impact of the floods combined with the level of vulnerability of affected communities in these districts: Bogura, Gaibandha, Jamalpur, Kurigram, Sirajganj,
Sunamganj, Sylhet, Tangail and, Bandarban. The response integrates IFRC’s Emergency Appeal launched on 30 July 2019 and includes existing on-going emergency interventions from the I/N NGOs, UN Agencies and START Fund Bangladesh.

STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES

1. To provide life-saving assistance to those in life- threatening situations

2. To restore the safety and dignity of the most vulnerable populations

3. To rebuild livelihoods and to facilitate the recovery process

FUNDING required between August 2019 and April 2020 (9 months)

Complementing GoB’s efforts, the humanitarian community is seeking US$27 million to provide immediate humanitarian assistance to 736,000 persons (50% men, 50% women, 43% children) between August 2019 and April 2020.