PRESS RELEASE : UK government announces a further £450,000 in humanitarian assistance to support more than 36,000 people affected by flooding in eastern Bangladesh [August 2024]

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 29 August 2024.

The UK government is providing an additional £450,000 (BDT 7 crores) of vital humanitarian assistance to support more than 36,000 people affected by flooding in eastern Bangladesh, where more than five million people have been impacted.

This builds on the £33,000 (BDT 52 lacs) of initial emergency funding released on Monday 26 August. It brings the UK government’s total support to disaster preparedness and response across Bangladesh this year to over £1,500,000 (BDT 23.4 crores) and is additional to the UK government’s ongoing support to help increase Bangladesh’s resilience to climate change.

This assistance will support people in seven of the worst affected districts: Feni, Cumilla, Noakhali, Lakshmipur, Moulvibazar, Khagrachari and Chattogram. Some areas are facing their most severe flooding in 40 years.

One component of this new UK support will be managed by Start Fund Bangladesh and implemented by NGOs. This will support over 36,000 people with food, cash transfers, clean water, sanitation and hygiene supplies.

A second component will be managed by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), and provide emergency maternal, newborn and reproductive health services to 4,500 women and adolescent girls. This includes helping to establish and run 30 mobile medical camps, which will provide essential medicines and healthcare.

Sarah Cooke, British High Commissioner to Bangladesh, said

“The UK government stands beside all of those affected by the current flooding in eastern Bangladesh. I am pleased to announce the UK government is providing further humanitarian assistance to support those impacted.

“This includes £450,000 of new funding released today (BDT 7 crores) to provide vital supplies and services to over 36,000 people. This is in addition to the UK government’s responses to Cyclone Remal and flooding earlier this year in Bangladesh, and our broader support to increase Bangladesh’s resilience to climate change.”

“This contribution complements the active and ongoing response of the interim government of Bangladesh, civil society and local communities.”

Notes to editors:

1. The UK government’s response to the current flooding builds on the £530,000 (BDT 8.2 crores) provided this year in Bangladesh to support those affected by flooding in Sylhet and Cyclone Remal.
2. The UK government’s response to the current flooding in eastern Bangladesh will be managed by Start Fund Bangladesh. It will be implemented by ASHIKA Development Associates, Center for Natural Resource Studies (CNRS), Coastal Association for Social Transformation (COAST) Trust, UTTARAN, ActionAid Bangladesh, Caritas Bangladesh, Christian Aid, and Islamic Relief Bangladesh.
3. The UK’s ongoing support to the UN Resident Coordinator’s Office and CARE Bangladesh, totalling £495,000 (BDT 7.7 crores) this year, is helping coordinate responses and produce needs assessments in Bangladesh when disasters hit.
4. The UK government is also working to help increase Bangladesh’s resilience to climate change. This includes ongoing support to CARE Bangladesh, totalling £33.6m (BDT 52.4 crores) over four years. This is working to increase climate resilience for one million vulnerable people, including by helping to protect and restore two Ecologically Critical Areas (ECA), the Sundarbans Reserve Forest and Hakaluki Haor.