AMOUNT: EUR 12 500 000
1. CONTEXT
Bangladesh is affected by several humanitarian crises due to, in particular, the consequences of recurrent natural disasters, the influx of refugees from Myanmar and the situation in the Chittagong Hill Tracts.
Bangladesh ranks 146th out of 187 countries in the 2012 Human Development Index (HDI), reflecting a drop from position 129 in 2010. ECHO's Integrated Analysis Framework for 2013-2014 identified high humanitarian needs in Bangladesh. The vulnerability of the population affected by the crisis is assessed to be very high. Bangladesh is one of the most disaster-prone countries in the world, exposed to a variety of natural disasters including cyclones, floods and earthquakes. On average, every year some 6 200 lives and USD 550 million are lost due to the impact of disasters. Bangladesh ranks as the 8th most populated country in the world, with the highest population density of the planet: almost 1 250 persons per square kilometre growing at an estimated rate of 1.59%. This very high density exacerbates the impact of localized disasters. On a global level, Bangladesh ranks, respectively, 1st and 6th in terms of vulnerability and human exposure to floods and cyclone. Similarly, the country is highly exposed to the risk of tsunami (3rd out of 76 countries) and earthquakes (17th out of 153 countries), landslides (35th out of 162) and drought (63rd out of 162 countries)1. According to recent reports, Bangladesh faces extreme risks to climate change and ranks 2nd on the Climate Change Vulnerability Index2. Being mostly low-lying and in the confluence of two large Asian rivers (the Ganges and the Brahmaputra) much of the country is prone to widespread seasonal flooding and highly vulnerable to the effects of climate change. The frequency, unpredictability and severity of these disasters is likely to be adversely affected by global warming, population growth, environmental degradation, ill-maintained infrastructure and poorly managed/quick urbanisation, all contributing to increase acute humanitarian needs. In May 2013, the impact of cyclone Mahasen affected the livelihood and habitat of more than a million persons in three southern districts.
