Bangladesh

Why CAFOD works in Bangladesh

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.

CAFOD's work in Bangladesh

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.