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Health Cluster partners strengthen efforts to prevent sexual exploitation and abuse in humanitarian response
Dhaka – 30 March 2026. Health Cluster partners have come together to strengthen safeguards against Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (SEA), a critical risk in humanitarian settings, particularly in health service delivery, where close interaction with vulnerable communities can increase exposure to harm.
A training workshop was organized by the Health Cluster under the leadership of the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MOHFW) Bangladesh, serving as co-lead, for its member organizations. The initiative was conducted with support from the Bangladesh Red Crescent Society, the Danish Red Cross, and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC).
The sessions were facilitated by Ms. Benedetta Cocco, PSEA Coordinator at the UN Resident Coordinator’s Office, and Ms. Pudentienne Musabyimana, PRS Coordinator at WHO Bangladesh.
A total of 52 representatives from Health Cluster partner organizations participated in the training. Participating organizations included ActionAid, ADPC, AVAS, BDRCS, BRAC, CARE, Caritas, CIPRB, Community Development for Peace, Concern Worldwide, Friendship, Danish Red Cross, the Department of Disaster Management, DGHS, icddr,b, IFRC, IRC, MSF, NIRAPAD, Save the Children (SCI), Shushilan, Swiss Red Cross, World Vision, the UN Resident Coordinator’s Office, Unnayan Sangha, UN Women, and WHO.
The workshop focused on building partners’ capacity to better understand SEA risks and apply practical measures to prevent and mitigate them across health programmes. Partners explored how power imbalances and service delivery dynamics can create risk points, and discussed concrete, context-specific actions to address these challenges. Available tools to assess risks and mitigate them were also presented.
Participants expressed satisfaction with the workshop outcomes and a shared commitment to ensuring safe and accountable health programming. Moving forward, cluster coordinators will follow up with partners to support the application and integration of SEA risk mapping tools into ongoing programmes. Partners are encouraged to share experiences, challenges, and lessons learned through coordination platforms, helping to track progress, strengthen accountability, and ensure that mitigation efforts translate into practical action.