UK gives addl £450,000 for flood-hit people

The UK government is providing an additional £450,000 of vital humanitarian assistance to support more than 36,000 people affected by flooding in eastern Bangladesh, where five million people have been impacted, reports UNB.

This builds on the £33,000 of initial emergency funding released on Monday 26 August, said the British High Commission in Dhaka on Thursday.

It brings the UK government's total support to disaster preparedness and response across Bangladesh this year to over £1,500,000 and is additional to the UK government's ongoing support to help increase Bangladesh's resilience to climate change.

This assistance will support people in seven of the worst affected districts: Feni, Cumilla, Noakhali, Laxmipur, Moulvibazar, Khagrachhari and Chattogram. Some areas are facing their most severe flooding in 40 years.

One component of this new UK support will be managed by Start Fund Bangladesh and implemented by NGOs.

This will support over 36,000 people with food, cash transfers, clean water, sanitations and hygiene supplies.

A second component will be managed by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), and provide emergency maternal, newborn and reproductive health services to 4,500 women and adolescent girls.

This includes helping to establish and run 30 mobile medical camps, which will provide essential medicines and healthcare.

British High Commissioner to Bangladesh Sarah Cooke said the UK government stands beside all of those affected by the current flooding in eastern Bangladesh. "I am pleased to announce the UK government is providing further humanitarian assistance to support those impacted."

This includes £450,000 of new funding released on Thursday to provide vital supplies and services to over 36,000 people.