প্রকাশ: 16/07/2022
The World Bank has approved a $500 million credit to help
Bangladesh improve disaster preparedness against inland flooding in 14
flood-prone districts benefiting over 1.25 million people.
The Resilient Infrastructure for Adaptation and
Vulnerability Reduction (RIVER) project will help Bangladesh reduce
vulnerability to riverine and flash floods by constructing over 500
multipurpose flood shelters, access roads, and climate-resilient community
infrastructure.
In normal times, the flood shelters will operate as primary
schools and they will be equipped with solar energy systems, water, sanitation,
and hygiene facilities, that cater to the needs of women and vulnerable
populations.
The project will also help strengthen the capacity of
communities and government agencies to prepare and respond to floods and
undertake behavioral change interventions, said a press release.
“The heart-wrenching flood situation in Sylhet region is a
stark reminder of the increasing risks of climate change to development - more
frequent, unpredictable and intense natural disasters,” said Mercy Tembon,
World Bank Country Director for Bangladesh and Bhutan.
“Building on our five-decade long partnership of improving
disaster risk management in the coastal region, this project will help
Bangladesh improve disaster preparedness in the non-coastal flood-prone areas.
It will also support the country’s transition from a disaster response to a
disaster risk management approach,” she added.
The release said Bangladesh, a low-lying Delta, is highly
vulnerable to the effects of climate change-related natural disasters,
including floods and cyclones. With climate change, the magnitude and intensity
of floods are increasing.
Every year, floods and riverbank erosion affect about one
million people but in some years, the numbers can be substantially higher. The
project will help save lives and properties in the highly flood-prone districts
in the Teesta-Brahmaputra-Jamuna, Padma, and Surma-Meghna river basins, which
are: Nilpamari, Lalmonirhat, Kurigram, Rangpur, Gaibandha, Bogura, Pabna,
Sirajganj, Rajbari, Faridpur, Gopalganj, Madaripur, and Sunamganj, Habiganj.
“Inadequate evacuation facilities for people and their
livestock in highly flood-prone areas not only leads to the loss of lives and
livelihoods, but it also hampers the ability to provide adequate relief,” said
Ignacio Urrutia, World Bank Team Leader for the project.
“This project will contribute to developing evacuation
facilities that provide WASH, apply gender-sensitive design, and provide
sufficient space for community members and livestock, while at the same time
benefiting the community in regular times,”added Urrutia.
The project will also develop a database on the availability
and condition of flood shelters, which will be critical for disaster
preparedness and future investment planning.
The project will support the Bangladesh Delta Plan 2100, a
long-term plan to achieve a safe, climate-resilient, and prosperous delta, as
well as the World Bank Group’s Climate Change Action Plan 2021-2025.
The credit is from the World Bank’s International
Development Association (IDA), which provides concessional financing, and has a
30-year term, including a five-year grace period.
The World Bank was among the first development partners to
support Bangladesh and has committed $37 billion in grants, interest-free, and
concessional credits to the country since its Independence. Currently,
Bangladesh has the largest ongoing IDA program in the world.
- BSS
প্রধান সম্পাদকঃ সৈয়দ বোরহান কবীর
ক্রিয়েটিভ মিডিয়া লিমিটেডের অঙ্গ প্রতিষ্ঠান
বার্তা এবং বাণিজ্যিক কার্যালয়ঃ ২/৩ , ব্লক - ডি , লালমাটিয়া , ঢাকা -১২০৭
নিবন্ধিত ঠিকানাঃ বাড়ি# ৪৩ (লেভেল-৫) , রোড#১৬ নতুন (পুরাতন ২৭) , ধানমন্ডি , ঢাকা- ১২০৯
ফোনঃ +৮৮-০২৯১২৩৬৭৭