Bangladesh
SUFAL II Baseline Report
The project “Scaling up Flood Forecast Based- Action and Learning in Bangladesh (SUFAL) – Phase II”, is aimed to strengthen resilience of communities to the impacts of frequent monsoon floods. SUFAL-II is being implemented in the districts of Kurigram and Gaibandha, Jamalpur and Bogura. In each district, two types of interventions (one intervention in one upazila) are being implemented. They are -
- Full scale implementation – Capacity development and support to communities to implement sector-specific early actions with extended lead times prior to monsoon floods.
- Partial scale implementation – Technical and capacity building support to the Disaster Management Committees (DMCs) and government officials, with the aim to demonstrate how the FbA mechanism can be operationalized in a district.
The selected areas in each district have ‘medium’ to ‘very high’ risk profiles as per INFORM Index on Risk Management. The risk profiles have been calculated based on the modelling of exposure to hazard, vulnerability and coping mechanisms in place.
Methodology
The baseline study uses a mixed method analysis. Thus, both quantitative and qualitative tools were administered to collect relevant data to assess the baseline status. The quantitative tool was administered to a sample of 1500 households, which were distributed across 60 wards. For the qualitative aspect of the study, a total of 28 Key Informant Interviews (KIIs) were conducted with DMCs and local government officials and 30 Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) were conducted with the community members.
Key Findings
Background of respondents
Under the household survey, a total of 1494 interviews were conducted, of which 1394 interviews were conducted in three treatment groups and 100 interviews were conducted in the control group. The majority of respondents were female (74%), Muslim (95.7%), and of Bangali (99.8%) ethnicity. Approximately 79% of households reported a monthly income that exceeded 5000 Taka.
Floods in 2022
Of all the respondents, 78.4% experienced floods in 2022, with the highest occurrence in the month of Ashar - Srabon. Treatment group 1 (64.7%) and the control group (70%) had a lower flood incidence compared to Treatment groups 2 (89.1%) and Treatment group 3 (86.8%).
Early warning
Of all respondents in the three treatment groups who faced floods in 2022, only 36.3% received early warnings. It was observed that a higher percentage of respondents from the treatment group 1 (69.4%) received early warnings as compared to treatment group 3 (35.4%) and treatment group 2 (11.8%). Overall, out of all the respondents who reported receiving early warning, 85.8% reported that they received it 1 to 5 days prior to the floods. Television (40.1%) and friends/relatives (29.7%) were the primary sources of early warning information. Among other sources, only 8.5% of respondents reported receiving early warning via Audio calls, 19.2% reported from community volunteers (miking or household visit) and 1.2% via digital boards. Among those who received early warnings, 60.3% had information about flood intensity/water level, and 52.9% had information about the lead time. However, only 36.2% received guidance on early actions, 24.7% received livestock advisory, and 13.0% received agromet advisory. This indicates a lack of agromet advisory, flood preparedness advisory, and health awareness across all treatment groups. Overall, 67.8% of respondents found the early warnings timely and understandable, and 98.8% expressed trust in the early warnings. Read More...
- Full scale implementation – Capacity development and support to communities to implement sector-specific early actions with extended lead times prior to monsoon floods.
- Partial scale implementation – Technical and capacity building support to the Disaster Management Committees (DMCs) and government officials, with the aim to demonstrate how the FbA mechanism can be operationalized in a district.
The selected areas in each district have ‘medium’ to ‘very high’ risk profiles as per INFORM Index on Risk Management. The risk profiles have been calculated based on the modelling of exposure to hazard, vulnerability and coping mechanisms in place.
Methodology
The baseline study uses a mixed method analysis. Thus, both quantitative and qualitative tools were administered to collect relevant data to assess the baseline status. The quantitative tool was administered to a sample of 1500 households, which were distributed across 60 wards. For the qualitative aspect of the study, a total of 28 Key Informant Interviews (KIIs) were conducted with DMCs and local government officials and 30 Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) were conducted with the community members.
Key Findings
Background of respondents
Under the household survey, a total of 1494 interviews were conducted, of which 1394 interviews were conducted in three treatment groups and 100 interviews were conducted in the control group. The majority of respondents were female (74%), Muslim (95.7%), and of Bangali (99.8%) ethnicity. Approximately 79% of households reported a monthly income that exceeded 5000 Taka.
Floods in 2022
Of all the respondents, 78.4% experienced floods in 2022, with the highest occurrence in the month of Ashar - Srabon. Treatment group 1 (64.7%) and the control group (70%) had a lower flood incidence compared to Treatment groups 2 (89.1%) and Treatment group 3 (86.8%).
Early warning
Of all respondents in the three treatment groups who faced floods in 2022, only 36.3% received early warnings. It was observed that a higher percentage of respondents from the treatment group 1 (69.4%) received early warnings as compared to treatment group 3 (35.4%) and treatment group 2 (11.8%). Overall, out of all the respondents who reported receiving early warning, 85.8% reported that they received it 1 to 5 days prior to the floods. Television (40.1%) and friends/relatives (29.7%) were the primary sources of early warning information. Among other sources, only 8.5% of respondents reported receiving early warning via Audio calls, 19.2% reported from community volunteers (miking or household visit) and 1.2% via digital boards. Among those who received early warnings, 60.3% had information about flood intensity/water level, and 52.9% had information about the lead time. However, only 36.2% received guidance on early actions, 24.7% received livestock advisory, and 13.0% received agromet advisory. This indicates a lack of agromet advisory, flood preparedness advisory, and health awareness across all treatment groups. Overall, 67.8% of respondents found the early warnings timely and understandable, and 98.8% expressed trust in the early warnings. Read More...
PROHORI: Combating Intimate Partner Violence in Bangladesh in the Context of COVID-19
In July 2021, CARE Bangladesh and its local partner GBK launched the Prohori project to prevent intimate partner violence (IPV) and respond to survivors of violence through safe spaces, behavior change communication and capacity building approaches that address gender norms and practices. The 12-month project was generously funded by Voices Against Violence: The Gender-Based Violence Global Initiative, a public-private partnership led by Vital Voices and funded with support from the State Department and the Avon Foundation. The project targeted female garment workers and their male partners in Gazipur District, and female agricultural workers and their male partners in Rangpur District. CARE implemented activities in four locations in Gazipur, a peri-urban industrial area in central Bangladesh, and GBK implemented activities in five locations in Rangpur in northwest Bangladesh. Prohori used a blend of community-based, participatory approaches to prevent IPV, improve IPV survivors’ linkages to post-GBV referral services, and strengthen the capacity of first responders to respond empathetically to people who disclose they have experienced GBV. The project built 9 Women and Girls’ Safe Solidarity Spaces (WSSSs, adding to the 18 that CARE had already established in Gazipur) and strengthened GBV services through capacity building and referral service coordination. Read More...
Building Resilience of the Urban Poor Baseline Report
CARE Bangladesh, with the support from C&A Foundation, has been implementing a project titled ‘Building Resilience of the Urban Poor (BRUP)’ through CARE’s partner organization- Village Education Resource Center (VERC) in two wards (Tongi and Konabari) of Gazipur City Corporation. The overall goal of the project is to achieve enhanced resilience of targeted urban communities and targeted institutions to prepare for, mitigate, respond to, and recover from shocks and stresses. NIRAPAD (Network for Information, Response And Preparedness Activities on Disaster) has been commissioned to conduct the baseline study and to develop a Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) framework for the project. This report describes the current situation of the project area in Gazipur as well as presents a Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) framework based on the finding of the study. Read More...
The impact of price hikes of essential food commodities on the poor and extreme poor in Bangladesh
Strengthening Household Ability to Respond to Development Opportunities (SHOUHARDO) III Plus is a two-year program (2022-2024) funded by the United States Agency for International Develoment (USAID). The program aims to deliver improved gender-equitable food and nutrition security and resilience for 168,521 Poor and Extreme Poor (PEP) households in northern Bangladesh’s char and haor regions. Building on the successes of the predecessor program, SHOUHARDO III Plus works with participants to pursue diversified sources of income, support inclusive and sustainable agricultural-led growth, enhance access to markets, especially for women and girls, and improve access to financial services for PEP participants. The program also promotes increased consumption of nutritious foods and micro-nutrients for children under five, pregnant and lactating women, and adolescent girls. The program continuously engages and links the program facilitated Local Service Providers (LSP) with the public and private sectors to achieve its aim. SHOUHARDO III Plus integrates gender, governance, Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR), environment, and private sector as cross-cutting components to maximize the program’s impact. Read More...
Improving lives of Rohingya refugees and host community members in Bangladesh through sexual and reproductive healthcare integrated with gender-based violence prevention, response violence prevention and response
The intended impact of the project is improved living conditions for women and girls in Rohingya refugee camps and host communities in Cox’s Bazar.
Outcome Statement: Improved sexual and reproductive health, GBV survivor support and protection from GBV of Rohingya refugees and host community members in Cox´s Bazar Bangladesh.
Purpose of the Study: This endline study has established endline values for the following project outcome indicators. This assessment has provided a comparison of baseline value and endline value of the indicators. A set of recommendations has been provided through the assessment report on project interventions. Read More...
Outcome Statement: Improved sexual and reproductive health, GBV survivor support and protection from GBV of Rohingya refugees and host community members in Cox´s Bazar Bangladesh.
Purpose of the Study: This endline study has established endline values for the following project outcome indicators. This assessment has provided a comparison of baseline value and endline value of the indicators. A set of recommendations has been provided through the assessment report on project interventions. Read More...
Exploring the role of boys and men of SHOUHARDO III in catalyzing Women Empowerment (WE) and reducing Gender-Based Violence (GBV) during the extension phase (2020-2022)
Strengthening Household Ability to Respond to Development Opportunities (SHOUHARDO) III is a Resilience Food Security Activity (RFSA) funded by the United States Government through the United States Agency for International Development/Bureau of Humanitarian Assistance (USAID/BHA), with complementary funding from the Government of Bangladesh (GoB). SHOUHARDO III works in 947 villages from the Char and Haor regions in northern Bangladesh to improve the lives of 725,611 people from 170,298 households. The program seeks to improve access to public and private services for the rural poor while building their resilience. Read More...
Tipping Point Global Impact Evaluation Summary
This summary presents the major findings from a mixed methods impact evaluation study conducted in Bangladesh (Rangpur district) and Nepal (Rupandehi and Kapilvastu Districts) in 2021. This impact evaluation was coordinated by CARE and led by its research partners, International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (icddr,b) in Bangladesh and Emory University & Interdisciplinary Analysts (IDA) in Nepal. Read More...
Impact Evaluation Fact Sheet
Bangladesh reports the fourth highest prevalence of child marriage (CM) globally, and the highest in South Asia, with 59% of the women aged 20–24 reported being married before the age of 18 and 19% before the age of 15. Globally, reducing CM poses a great challenge to policymakers, program developers, and implementers. Historically, the pace of reduction in CM has been quite slow with Bangladesh as the slowest among the South Asian countries, and recently the rate has stalled. The International Center for Diarrheal Research, Bangladesh(icddr,b) evaluated The Tipping Point Initiative (TPI), an integrated social norms intervention to reduce CM through the promotion of adolescent girls’ agency, creation of supporting relations and transforming norms driving CM. This brief summarizes, to the best of our knowledge, the first study of its kind in Bangladesh and the implications for both policy and practice. Read More...