UK trains Bangladesh on disaster management

UK lecturers had trained Bangladesh’s members of the armed forces, civil administrators and development partners on disaster management last week, a statement issued by the British High Commission in Dhaka said on Monday

Senior Correspondentbdnews24.com
Published : 25 March 2013, 09:22 AM
Updated : 25 March 2013, 09:24 AM

Richard Gordon and Michael Evans from the UK’s Bournemouth University facilitated the course from Mar 18 to 21, the release added.

Armed Forces Division, Ministry of Disaster Management, Department of Disaster Management, Police, Fire Service and Civil Defence, ICRC, World Vision, ECGO, UNDP, OXFAM, CDMP, ADPC, and OCHA were the organisations that took part in the training.

“It was organised by the Armed Forces Division, aimed at building capacity across the civil administration, international organisations and the military, which would all be involved in the event of a major natural disaster in Bangladesh, such as earthquakes and floods.”

The media release said the event was the latest in a series of activities funded by the British government aimed at ‘improving the response to natural disasters in Bangladesh.’

Listing its activities, it said the Humanitarian Preparedness and Response programme has been addressing how to save lives, alleviate suffering, maintain dignity and reduce the risks for people affected by disasters.

“One effect of this five-year project will be to assist over 90,000 people in Bangladesh to rebuild their livelihoods following floods and landslides.”

Over the last 14 months, another initiative, the Shelter, Sanitation Recovery and Resilience programme has helped people in the south west to protect themselves and their assets from the effects of water logging.

“For example, over 11,000 households now have disaster resilient, sustainable family shelters to protect them from floods.”

With the global humanitarian spending reaching a record-setting $17 billion back in 2010, it said, the UK is continuing to look for new ways to tackle this challenge.

“In collaboration with the USAID, it will setup a new fund to back mobile, text and other innovative technologies that can be used to help those hit by humanitarian crises.