The United Kingdom has announced that it is contributing an additional £500,000 (BDT 60.6 million) in humanitarian support to respond to last year’s flooding in the Sylhet region, in which 7.2m people were affected.
Delivered by BRAC, this funding will provide water, shelter, livelihood opportunities, and improved nutrition for people affected in Sunamganj, Sylhet.
UK Development Director in Bangladesh, Matt Cannell, said that devastating floods in the Sylhet region underline that Bangladesh remains vulnerable to the impacts of climate change.
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“This new funding provides vital water, nutrition, shelter and livelihood opportunities to some of the worst affected communities in Sunamganj, Sylhet,”he said. “The UK is proud to partner with BRAC to deliver this support.”
According to him, this new UK support will ensure safe water and shelter for nearly 1,000 affected households and restore livelihoods and food security for more than 5,000 affected households.
In his response, BRAC Executive Director, Asif Saleh, said, “the floods in northeastern Bangladesh, which affected over 7.2 million people in June 2022, were the worst to hit Bangladesh in the last two decades”. They left a trail of destruction in nine districts, with Sunamganj being the worst affected.
Significant efforts were undertaken to provide emergency response to meet immediate needs, but sustained humanitarian support is direly needed to help people recover and rebuild their lives.
It is hoped that the partnership between the British High Commission and BRAC will be crucial in standing beside the people in Sunamganj and being a partner in their journey to build back better.
Story was adapted from GOV.UK.
