A team of local staff in Bangladesh met yesterday to decide how best to use a £200,000 allocation from the Start Fund for response to the recent flooding. They felt that together Islamic Relief, Oxfam, Christian Aid and CARE International could provide a comprehensive and coordinated response to the disaster.
Heavy rain triggered flooding in north and north-eastern parts of Bangladesh in mid August. The recently conducted Joint Needs Assessment (JNA) reports that 1,867,636 people are affected - roughly a third of the total population in the affected area. The Start Fund alert note provided a snapshot of the humanitarian situation, with many people in need of shelter, safe drinking water, or hygiene facilities.
The Start Fund Allocation Committee met on Tuesday morning to discuss this alert note, bolstered by contextual information from ACAPS and Development Initiatives on the humanitarian context and funding situation. Within 48 hours a project selection committee had been convened in Bangladesh, who met yesterday to discuss a record thirteen proposals from Network members.
After careful consideration the committee selected proposals that they felt would provide coherent geographic and sectoral coverage as per the needs laid out in the JNA. They recommended that the agencies should meet to further ensure that their responses are complementary.
Together the projects aim to reach more than 67,000 people with food distribution, cash transfers, shelter and water, sanitation and hygiene promotion (WASH).