Sweden has announced an additional $ 1.85 million in humanitarian assistance, reaffirming its commitment to support the 5.8 million people affected by the recent floods in eastern Bangladesh.
This funding would be channeled through reputable organisations including the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), Islamic Relief, Danish Refugee Council (DRC), and Action Against Hunger (AAH).
This humanitarian support is intended to deliver essential aid, including cash assistance to affected families, thereby enabling nearly 95,000 individuals to access basic necessities such as food, shelter, and livelihood opportunities, according to a press release issued by Swedish Embassy in Dhaka on Thursday.
It said that the initiative would facilitate the return of 5,800 children to school.
The NRC, in collaboration with Uttaran, Young Power in Social Action (YPSA), and the Resource Integration Centre (RIC), would distribute cash grants to 3,015 households, provide shelter kits to 1,500 households, and offer cash-for-work opportunities to help reopen 29 schools across the eastern districts of Feni, Cumilla, and Noakhali.
Islamic Relief would supply cash grants and hygiene kits to 6,500 households in Feni and Noakhali.
Meanwhile, the DRC, through Uttaran, would deliver cash grants to 750 households, agricultural inputs to 1,200 households, and cash-for-work opportunities to restore community infrastructure, including drinking water points, irrigation channels, fishponds, agricultural roads, and individual shelters in Noakhali and Cox’s Bazar districts.
Action Against Hunger would also partner with Uttaran and Shushilan to provide cash grants to 1,000 households, cash support to 120 pregnant women, essential health services to 1,000 children, nutrition vouchers for 180 children, and menstrual hygiene kits to 640 women, along with rehabilitating 250 water points and 280 latrines, and offering mental health and psychosocial support to 2,000 individuals in Feni and Noakhali.
In addition to this funding, Sweden’s flexible contributions enabled the World Food Programme (WFP) to initiate an emergency response within days of the floods, delivering crucial food aid to over 130,000 individuals across Cumilla, Feni, Noakhali, Maulvibazar, Lakshmipur, and Cox’s Bazar.
Sweden has recently allocated $4 million to address the flooding crisis in eastern Bangladesh.
With this latest contribution, Sweden’s total humanitarian assistance to Bangladesh for 2024 now stands at $12.2 million.