USAID launches $70 million resilience initiative to support host and impacted communities
Key areas of focus include strengthening inclusive market systems, enhancing resilience, empowering women and promoting social inclusion
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has launched a five-year initiative with a budget of $70 million to support host and impacted communities in Bangladesh.
This programme is designed to improve the well-being and resilience of communities in Cox's Bazar and the three Chattogram Hill Tract (CHT) districts in Bangladesh, areas facing significant challenges in education, skills training, food security, poverty, and agricultural productivity.
Environment Adviser Syeda Rizwana Hasan attended the national-level launching event held at the Intercontinental Hotel in Dhaka today (20 January) as the chief guest.
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Ambassador Tracey Ann Jacobson, Charge d'Affaires at the US Embassy in Dhaka, attended as a special guest.
Running from 2024 to 2029, the programme aims to enhance the overall well-being and resilience of those living in communities hosting or affected by the Rohingya refugee crisis, said a press release.
According to the release, key areas of focus include strengthening inclusive market systems, enhancing resilience, empowering women, promoting social inclusion, improving access to income, water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) services and supporting climate adaptation.
Since the 2017 influx of Rohingya refugees, conditions in the targeted districts have deteriorated significantly. Local economies have been strained, leading to loss of livelihoods, declining wages, food insecurity, and disrupted market systems.
The increased population has also intensified pressure on already scarce resources, with urgent needs for clean drinking water and sanitation.
Environmental degradation, including the loss of forests, has further compromised biodiversity and ecosystem services.
These districts also face heightened vulnerability to natural disasters, including fires, flash floods, landslides, extreme heat, and droughts. Cox's Bazar, in particular, is grappling with rising sea levels, salinisation, and cyclones.
The USAID Host and Impacted Community Resilience Activity will take a multi-sectoral approach to tackle these complex challenges. By optimising local capacities, the initiative aims to maximize impact through enhanced collaboration and resource-sharing among government bodies, civil society, the private sector, and community-based stakeholders.
This is the largest localisation initiative supported by USAID in Bangladesh. The consortium, led by Friends In Village Development Bangladesh (FIVDB), includes key technical partners such as DevWorks International, Helen Keller International, Christian Aid, the International Initiative for Impact Evaluation (3ie), and Nature Conservation Management (NACOM), with additional support from an anticipated nine local partners in the Chittagong Hill Tracts.
