Rapid gender analysis of North and South Eastern floods (September 2024)

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The North and Southeastern flood has been unprecedented in its nature, severity, and timing affecting 11 districts in August 2024. It claimed 59 lives and affected 5.8 million people. In the affected areas,

3.05 million women and 78,362 pregnant women are most most vulnerable.
GiHA Working Group has undertaken this Rapid Gender Analysis to (i) analyse the differential impacts of the flood on women, men, girls, boys, people with disabilities, and people from gender-diverse groups; (ii) inform the HRP programming and implementation based on the differential needs of different genders and most vulnerable groups; and (iii) facilitate advocacy for a more genderresponsive preparedness, response, and recovery plans.
This RGA focuses on four key areas: 1)Shelter/Housing; 2) WASH; 3) Food security and income 4) Safety and Security of Women and Girls.

KEY FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Shelter and Housing: the flood displaced 502,501 people of whom 3000 were still in shelters until the beginning of September; 153,738 houses were partially damaged and 53,581 fully destroyed. People moved out of the temporary shelters only to find themselves in unlivable houses where all their belongings, including bedding and blankets, were all wet and soiled. They need immediate support with house repair and reconstruction to live with some dignity and protection

• Immediate recommendations - shelter materials, cash grants especially to families from charlands and female-headed households and families with adolescent girls; hosting support to families sheltering affected families; ‘safe spaces’ in shelters for women, girls, and lactating mothers.

• Long Term recommendations – introduce Build Back better techniques, to make the repaired and reconstructed houses more resilient to floods through training and in-kind support; Cash for Work (CFW) for raising/repairing plinths and other house repairing/reconstruction work; prioritising female-headed and elderly households.

Water, Sanitation and Hygiene: the flood severely damaged the water and sanitation facilities. The care burden has substantially increased for women and girls. In the absence of WASH facilities and contaminated water women and girls are at risk of urinary and reproductive tract infection, while they lack menstrual hygiene management materials. Water sources have been contaminated by fecal waste, oil, agricultural chemicals, industrial waste, and other substances. Women and girls face GBV risks related to accessing toilets and sanitation points outside the home, many times in community places. 7000 schools were closed affecting 1,750,000 primary students across the affected districts; repairing the toilet facilities in those schools is a prerequisite to get the girls back to school.

• Immediate recommendations - Supply water purifying tablets (WPT); include messages on gender inclusivity, and equitable share of WASH chores at HH level during distribution; ensure privacy and safety for women and girls bathing spaces, by ensuring lighting, lock, proper fencing; hygiene Kits; women and girls’ participation in installation of water points and mobile latrines; Multipurpose cash support.

• Long Term recommendations: flood preparedness programme; women to receive relevant knowledge and messages to maintain proper hygiene during disasters; changing perception about women as a potential leaders having representation in decision making. Use WASH interventions for broader transformational change towards gender equality.

Food Security and Income: Floods have significantly damaged crop lands, with Feni and Noakhali districts alone witnessing 81,675 hectares damaged. This is impacting people's food security as they are reliant on the little humanitarian aid available. Cooking stoves of many households have been damaged beyond usage. Few stoves which were usable were being shared between households to cook food. At places people did not eat a proper cooked meal in ten days. Further, farmers will face difficulty replanting as their fields will continue to be flooded. Livestock has been heavily damaged which deepened the food crisis, as livestock is a source of food and income. The Department of Livestock in the Eastern region estimates a loss of livestock amounting to 26 million USD. The fisheries sector, a major source of both nutrition and income for communities, in 10 districts suffered losses estimated at 121.6 million USD according to the Department of Fisheries (DOF)3. On the other hand, women, who form a significant portion of the agricultural workforce, have been disproportionately affected by the destruction of crops and farmlands, and the inability to plant the next crops. In Noakhali, where 24.43% of the agricultural workforce comprises women, the devastation has stripped them of their livelihoods. Along with these market disruptions have isolated communities.
Infrastructure damage has hindered transportation of goods, leading to acute shortages of food and other essentials, resulting in a spike in food prices. Women-owned small enterprises, has been particularly hit hard.

• Immediate recommendation: food packages including baby food, and cooking fuel (e.g. fuel wood), for pregnant and lactating women, children, persons with disabilities, the elderly, and female-headed households; cash assistance; providing seeds, and other inputsincluding tools to women farmers to restart agricultural works; cash-for-work prioritising female-headed households assisting their income earning.

• Long Term recommendations: climate-resilient agriculture supporting women farmers, introducing flood-resistant crops, and providing training on sustainable practices; women fish farmers inclusion in fisheries rehabilitation; rebuilding infrastructure with gender considerations.

Safety and Security of Women and Girls: An estimated 1.63 million reproductive-age women, including 444,600 adolescent girls aged 10 to 19, have been impacted by the flood. The flood affected physical and mental health of women and children. The risk of child marriage, hazardous child labour,
GBV, and different forms of child exploitation has increased significantly. Elders in shelters were reportedly guarding young girls and boys. Many women didn’t evacuate to shelters because they were concerned about the community living and family honour. In some cases, people did not get space in shelters either those were overcrowded or some powerful groups preferred some people over others in allocating spaces. Shelters had poor facilities: no separate toilets for women, no electricity, and no privacy for lactating mothers. Roads and other means of communication were severely disrupted, making women’s mobility all the more difficult. There is an acute need for mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) in the affected communities.

• Immediate recommendation: Deployment of trained (in GBV in Emergency) female volunteers; skilled midwives in medical teams; boats for pregnant women to reach health facilities; Psychological First Aid (PFA) trained social workers; dignity kits; safe and private spaces for women including breastfeeding mothers, girls, children, and gender diverse groups; reporting channels for GBV.

• Long Term recommendations: Specialised law enforcement officers to assist adolescents, children, women, and persons with disabilities; mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) for women and children; improved early warning systems; women in school committees to reduce child marriage, dropout of girls; community-based protection approaches (CBP) for child protection and GBV prevention.

Set up GiHA Chapters in most disaster-prone districts of all divisions