Alan visits Bangladesh
13 July 2011
A dash of hope and a morsel of resilience from Bangladesh
As Minister for International Development, in June Alan paid his second DFID visit to Bangladesh. The visit this time took him further afield, to severely climate affected areas, and to visit organisations with a focus on issues he had not previously encountered.
Extremely bad weather in the south halted plans to travel to one of the most remote areas of the country, Dacope, in Khulna Division, near the coast. This area is hugely vulnerable to rising tides and extreme weather shocks. Prior to Alan's arrival, rain fell copiously and tidal surges of 7 feet severely disrupted the communities he was supposed to visit. So, all efforts of DFID's partners were refocused on assisting those affected by the flooding, and we reorganised the visit away from that area to let the recovery continue.
Instead of Dacope, the MoS visited char islands in Gaibandah, in the remote North West of Bangladesh. Here Alan saw how DFID-funded-work has raised the income levels and security of families who were previously among the poorest 10% of the population, living on less than 30p per day. He saw the benefits of asset transfers such as livestock (like goats) in allowing the extreme poor to take a step or two further up the ladder to lift themselves out of extreme poverty. The Chars Livelihood Programme (CLP) also assists with physical resilience to rising water levels, and increases communities' abilities to withstand extreme weather conditions more effectively and benefit from greater stability.
Alan was also very struck by the very tangible benefits of UK assistance to the Acid Survivors Foundation, and ICDDR,B (the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research). Here he met individuals affected by two very different, entirely preventable but seriously life-threatening conditions: diarrhoea and the effects of acid violence. Talking later, at a press conference, he said of his time at the Acid Survivor's Foundation, 'this is probably one of the most harrowing, but also one of the most inspirational visits I have ever had'.
Article reproduced from Department for Intenational Development website