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Blog by Danielle Turner and Marwa Tasnim on Cyclone Remal response in Bangladesh where Start Ready, Start Fund Anticipation, and Start Fund Rapid Response were all activated.

Start Network is delighted to announce that the successful partnership with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands is due to continue, with just over £12million GBP allocated for the next three and a half years.

FOREWARN Bangladesh, in association with Open Mapping Hub - Asia Pacific, is running the first-ever disaster hackathon in Bangladesh. It has announced its top 8 teams from across public, private, and international universities.

In 2020, Start Fund Bangladesh (SFB) conducted an Organisational System Strengthening Initiative (OSSI) facilitated by an external consultant. This initiative took a participatory approach in assisting six of SFB’s local members to identify gaps in the operating functions of their respective organisations. Bolipara Nari Kalyan Somity (BNKS) was one of these organisations. It is a women-led organisation that has been operating in Chittagong Hill Tracks of southeastern Bangladesh since 1991.  

When Bangladesh went into lockdown at the end of March 2020, many families were apprehensive about how they would earn a living. Although the government responded quickly by introducing economic stimulus packages, and support for vulnerable and low-income families, it wasn't enough to meet all of the need. One group that was initially left without adequate support were marginal farmers, who make up more than 75% of the country’s total farmer population.

In a recent Desk Review on Enhancing the Potential of Pooled Funds for Localisation (September 2020) conducted by the Grand Bargain Workstream 2 on Localisation, Start Fund Bangladesh (SFB) was held up as a strong example of locally-led humanitarian action that exemplifies some of the commitments set out in the Grand Bargain. SFB’s transformative model shows that it is possible to have a more proactive, efficient and locally-led humanitarian sector.

Humanitarian coordination in Bangladesh involves a large number of stakeholders and forums, and a complex system of government committees that relate to disaster management actors, clusters, working groups, NGOs and INGOs. To be successful, this system needs to be responsive and adaptive to the local needs and contexts, well-coordinated and to ensure active participation of local and national actors. This is where Start Fund Bangladesh (SFB) fits in. Here are some examples where SFB has facilitated or lead changes within the humanitarian system in Bangladesh.

Start Fund Bangladesh, since its inception in 2017, has been advocating to change the deep-rooted partnership practices that hinder localisation commitments, one of which is the equal sharing of ICR. Although changes were not reflected initially, in 2019 a few Start Fund Bangladesh INGO members started negotiating with their head offices and became successful in ensuring a share of ICR went to their local partners. 

Using local membership strength of a pooled funding mechanism to extend humanitarian support during a pandemic.

COVID-19 has caused massive disruption to large-scale national and international mobilisation. Reduced international travel and the lockdown of stations, ports, borders, transportation and supply lines has disrupted the operations of many INGOs, making it virtually impossible to deploy surge capacities. As a result, many local organisations have been forced to step up and carry out locally coordinated responses to this pandemic.