Floods and COVID-19: livelihoods challenges for the extremely poor in Bangladesh
This year’s monsoon has resulted in intense floods and landslides with many communities displaced as a result. Simultaneously the Bangladesh population is severely impacted by the Coronavirus pandemic, both its impact on people’s health (by 24th August 3,941 deaths from Covid-19 have been reported) and finances. Many people have lost their incomes as a result of lockdown and economic recession in Bangladesh and globally. Worst affected are daily wage earners, people who live hand to mouth on what they are able to earn each day.
At the advent of monsoon season Practical Action, Concern Worldwide, and Mercy Corps conducted an assessment of 15 Union Disaster Management Committees (UMDC) across three districts in Bangladesh resulting in the report Monsoon, floods and COVID-19: building community resilience in Bangladesh and subsequent update. These reports help provide a relevant background understanding of the topics discussed in the webinar.
The webinar coordinated by Alliance Partners working with communities in Bangladesh to build flood resilience is aimed at representatives from the local and national government, civil society organizations, and national and international NGOs and will focus on flood-prone communities’ experiences of the combined threat of floods and Covid-19 (including the unemployment and poverty it has brought).
The aim is to provide recommendations for government, international donors, and NGOs working with communities impacted by these challenges.
Time: 19.00-20.30 (Bangladesh Standard Time)
Speakers
- Chair: Dr Qazi Kholiquzzaman Ahmad, Chairman of Palli Karma Sahayak Foundation (PKSF)
- Key Note Paper Presentation: Sayeed M. Riadh, Head of Programme at Concern Worldwide and Afsari Begum, Sr. DRR Specialist at Practical Action
Panel Discussants
- Dr Tapan Sarkar, Associate Professor at Griffith University, Australia
- Mr Atul Sarker, Deputy Commissioner and District Magistrate Faridpur
- Ms Jesmin Nahar, Vice-chairman of Hatibandha Upazilla Parishad, Lalmonirhat.
- Md. Ibrahim Khalilullah, Chairman of Belka Union Council, Sundarganj Upazila, Gaibandha.
- Mr Mohammad Manirul Islam, Deputy Secretary for Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change
- Mr Shamsuddin Ahmed, Director of Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD)
- Mr Md. Arifuzzaman Bhuyan, Executive Engineer at Flood Forecasting and Warning Centre, Bangladesh Water Development Board
Note: No pre-registration is required.