Humanitarian work

Background

Disasters - natural and man-made - are phenomenal in Bangladesh. The most devastating cyclones and floods in the world occur here. In addition, the country has approximately 600 kilometres of coastline which leaves huge tracts of land open to the destructive effects of cyclones and storm surges.

Bangladesh is affected by floods, cyclones, storm surges, drought, riverbank erosion, and landslides.

Natural hazards cause disasters

These extreme natural hazards are termed disasters when they adversely affect the whole environment, including human beings, their shelters, or the resources essential for their livelihoods.

Cyclones and floods often result in major disasters, but there are other ones too, and some of them are just as devastating. For example, river erosion takes away thousands of hectares of land every year, in a country where land is the scarcest resource. Earthquakes may cause millions and billions of Taka worth of damage.

Disasters linked

Perhaps the most disturbing but ignored fact about disasters is that they are all linked to each other. Diminishing the effects of disasters would involve a total approach rather than tackling one or the other disaster.

In a disaster situation, those living near the poverty line can easily slip below it. The landless and near landless may be forced to sell their limited assets for survival needs. Those who depend upon wage labour for subsistence are forced to compete with those entering the labour market. The labour market, in turn, becomes further depressed by the loss of harvests and alternative sources of employment.

Oxfam’s approach to Disaster Risk Management

Oxfam aims to help poor communities, particularly women, to better prepare for and cope with disasters. This includes prevention, mitigation, preparedness, response, recovery and rehabilitation work; irrespective of all hazards, all risks, all sectors  and all terrains.

Disaster risk management also involves improving Oxfam’s, and its partners’ organisational readiness to respond quickly and effectively to a humanitarian crisis in the region.

Reducing the Vulnerability of the Poor

Oxfam’s efforts to reduce the impact of disasters on peoples’ lives include:

• raising the foundation level of homesteads and community places;
• building and maintaining community cyclone and flood shelters;
• making communities more aware of how to cope and live with disasters;
• assisting communities to develop disaster action plans through assessing their risk and vulnerabilities;
• building the capacities of communities affected by natural disasters and developing human resources to improve their response management skills during disasters; 
• equiping communities with skills and aides such as  rescue boats, emergency storages, early warning materials, and first aid/delivery kit boxes;
• undertaking policy advocacy with government partners on disaster management measures.

Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee (BRAC) University

Considering the importance of capacity building in disaster management, Oxfam linked up with BRAC University to launch a first-ever postgraduate course on disaster management comprising Certificate, Diploma, and a Masters Degree Programme.

Since its inception in 1972, BRAC, one of the largest grassroots development organisations in the world, has been involved in disaster management, especially related to floods and cyclones.

Back to Bangladesh in depth overview

Last updated: July 06