Climate change and Bangladesh have been increasingly associated in recent years. In one of the world’s most vulnerable countries to climate change, we help to build community resilience to floods and cyclones.
Climate change: the country’s sea levels are rising much faster than the global average. Salty water is salinating fresh water near the coast, and flooding has become more frequent in the last 50 years.
Women: traditionally excluded from making decisions within the family and in a political sphere, women’s empowerment is key to development in Bangladesh. In recent years positive changes are taking place, for example, now in much of the country girls’ secondary school attendance exceeds that of boys.
Our work
Christian Aid started working in Bangladesh in 1972, and we are currently working through partners in 35 districts.
Our partners range from national level policy and advocacy organisations that focus on climate change to partners that work in the field dealing with the issue of secure livelihoods and gender.
Our main focus areas are climate change, preparing people for emergencies and helping people achieve sustainable livelihoods. Going forward we aim to work alongside local and national government on all of these issues.
Our partners
Christian Commission for Development in Bangladesh (CCDB) is our longest standing partner working throughout Bangladesh. In central southern Bangladesh, CCDB works on secure livelihoods in a changing environment and women’s credit and loan groups, known locally as forums.
CCDB is currently reaching more than 7,000 women through these forums. Women receive training on rights and advocacy so that they can lobby their local government to make sustainable changes to improve their lives and livelihoods.
Shushilan works predominately in southern Bangladesh. In south west Bangladesh, it focuses on post disaster emergency response, relief and rehabilitation work and the challenges of climate change.
The loss of fresh water in the local environment has meant communities need to adapt how they farm or investigate alternative ways of making a living. Shushilan supports this by running projects about crab farming and on the production of saline-resistant seeds.
Bangladesh Centre for Advanced Studies (BCAS) researches issues on the environment, good governance and public-private partnership. It also implements projects at the grassroots level. It supports women in isolated regions to help them improve their access to safe water through establishing people's water councils.
Further content
Bangladesh - rowing for equality
After Cyclone Alia - Flickr gallery
Our work on climate change
