Densely populated, with an estimated 165 million inhabitants, Bangladesh is considered to be among countries that are most vulnerable to natural disaster and the impacts of climate change. In August 2016, approximately 4 million people across 19 districts of Bangladesh were affected by flooding, with over 100 people killed and hundreds of thousands fleeing their homes. The Transforming Surge Capacity Project held a webinar to discuss key findings and best practices from a newly published report on the locally led emergency response to the 2016 floods, which helped bring relief to many of those affected. The report led by the CHS Alliance, with support from the project highlights that:
• The emergency response benefited from the presence of NGOs and government staff across the affected areas with a Rapid Needs Assessment coordinated by CARE Bangladesh forming the basis of the response plan for many responders.
• Responding agencies reported a 100% Bangladeshi led response with no agencies reporting surging in staff from outside of the country
• Although the majority of responders were reportedly men, agencies often focused on female-led response at the local level.
• Funding provided by the Start Network from the Start Fund was key for the response of the agencies of the Transforming Surge Capacity project.
• There were concerns that communities would run into difficulties in their efforts to rebuild themselves through sustainable livelihoods given the lack of funding and programmes for early recovery.
The webinar was led by Glenn O’Neil, one of the authors of the report, to share key findings and recommendations in changing surge policies and practices. This includes encouraging actors to work jointly in the assessment phase; supporting women-led responses at the local level and encouraging donors to fund local and national NGOs for crisis response and early recovery.
Access the report here https://reliefweb.int/node/2079289
How to register
Watch the recording at https://youtu.be/patSxf55Ko0