Sweden to give US $1.85m to flood victims in Bangladesh

Sweden will be providing a US $1.85 million (Tk 22.2 crore) fund to communities affected by floods in eastern Bangladesh.

The fund will be provided through the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), Islamic Relief, Danish Refugee Council (DRC) and Action Against Hunger, according to a statement of the Swedish embassy in Dhaka today.

The humanitarian fund will be used, among other things, to provide cash support to affected families.

Nearly six million people have been affected by the recent floods in Bangladesh.

"This will provide nearly 95,000 people with basic necessities such as food, shelter and the opportunity to make a living, while 5,800 children are given the opportunity to return to school," the statement said.

The NRC will provide the cash grants through Uttaran, Young Power in Social Action (YPSA) and Resource Integration Centre (RIC) to 3,015 households, shelter kits to 1,500 households and cash for work to facilitate the reopening of 29 schools in eastern Feni, Cumilla and Noakhali districts.

Islamic Relief will provide cash grants and hygiene kits to 6,500 households in Feni and Noakhali districts.

The DRC will provide cash grants through Uttaran to 750 households, agriculture inputs to 1,200 households, and cash for work opportunities to repair and clean community infrastructure including drinking water points, irrigation channels, fishponds, agricultural roads, and individual shelters in Noakhali and Cox's Bazar districts.

Action Against Hunger (AAH) will provide cash grants through Uttaran and Shushilan to 1,000 households and cash support to 120 pregnant women, essential health services to 1,000 children and nutrition vouchers for 180 children, menstrual hygiene kits to 640 women, rehabilitate 250 water points and 280 latrines, and mental health and psychosocial support to 2,000 individuals in Feni and Noakhali districts.

In addition, Sweden's flexible funds allowed for World Food Programme to launch its emergency response within days of the floods, delivering critical food aid to over 1,30,000 people in Cumilla, Feni, Noakhali, Moulvibazar, Lakshmipur and Cox's Bazar.

Sweden is one of the largest humanitarian donors globally and the top donor to the UN's Central Emergency Response Fund, that has recently allocated US $4 million to respond to the eastern floods.

With this recent contribution, Sweden's humanitarian contribution to Bangladesh for 2024 amounts to US $12.2 million (Tk 146 crore).