Farmers in Bangladesh have prospered by growing organic crops on floating vegetable beds
Densely populated Bangladesh faces many challenges, including flash floods and frequent monsoons. Rohingya refugees who live in camps continue to face extreme poverty.
Millions of people in Bangladesh are socially, politically and economically excluded due to discrimination, weak governance and widespread corruption.
The most marginalised and excluded are women and girls from the poorest families, particularly migrant women and girls, including:
survivors of abuse and exploitation
the poorest small holder farmers with limited access to land, resources or assets
people displaced from climate change
people with disabilities and indigenous people.
The key drivers of poverty in Bangladesh are:
Frequent natural disasters, including cyclones and flooding. The flash floods and monsoons in August 2024 have affected nearly 6 million people, leading Bangladeshi officials to declare the floods to be the country’s worst climate disaster in recent memory.
An overuse of hybrid seeds and agrochemicals by poor farmers which pushes them into debt and destroys the environment.
Large domestic and overseas migration flows resulting in vulnerable individuals being exploited and trapped in modern slavery conditions abroad.
Bangladesh is also hosting over 1 million Rohingya refugees, who continue to live in extreme poverty, and are reliant on government and international aid with limited options to improve their lives.
With our sister agency Caritas Bangladesh and other local organisation and experts we are:
Providing emergency and recovery assistance to flood-affected people from the flash floods and monsoons in August 2024.
Teaching the most marginalised people, including women and people living with disabilities, farming skills to grow crops that can survive in a changing climate and which they can sell to increase their income.
Providing practical support to returning migrant workers, particularly vulnerable women, and advocating to improve their recovery and reintegration into Bangladeshi society.
Tackling the root causes of poverty and injustice through national and global advocacy on migration, food systems and climate change.
Responding to the escalating violence which is forcing more Rohingya to flee to Bangladesh’s Cox's Bazar district by providing essential services including water and sanitation, nutrition, shelter, protection and primary healthcare for pregnant mothers and children.
With support from CAFOD, Caritas Bangladesh is providing essential services including water and sanitation, nutrition, shelter, protection and some primary healthcare for pregnant mothers and children.
Shukla transformed her life with the love shown to her by her community and a project supported by gifts in Wills.
We answer your questions about the global refugee crisis and explain how CAFOD is responding.
We believe that a future where nobody goes hungry is possible, and with your help we can make this hope a reality.
Your support is making a difference for families and communities who lack access to water for drinking, washing and farming.
Twelve years since our first meeting, three children from Brazil, Kenya and Bangladesh and their families tell us how the climate crisis is affecting them.
Local experts and volunteers are providing emergency food, clean water and health advice to vulnerable families in the Rohingya refugee camps in Bangladesh.
As the coronavirus crisis took hold last year, it impacted communities in every country CAFOD works in. The Catholic community in England and Wales responded with selflessness, compassion and love.
With your support, we’re reaching vulnerable refugees worldwide, including families in Lebanon, Bangladesh and South Sudan.
