Bangladesh

Extreme poverty persists in areas such as city slums and remote communities. Since 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted Bangladesh profoundly; as GDP growth decelerated and poverty increased.

Due to its topography and climate, Bangladesh is subject to multiple hazards including devastating cyclones: it is ranked first in the world in terms of vulnerability to tropical cyclones.

Bangladesh remains vulnerable to food shortages with roughly a quarter of the population food insecure and suffering from high rates of malnutrition. The country faces significant challenges in adapting to the impacts of climate change.

The urban areas of Bangladesh are home to approximately 64 million people, and remain very challenging for those who live on the fringes of society.  Vulnerability is caused not only by environmental and geographical factors, but also socio-economic; such as high dependence on agriculture, the ready-made garment (RMG) industry, population density, and poverty.

The Government of Bangladesh is hosting approximately one million Rohingya people who fled violence in Myanmar to Cox’s Bazar, in what has become the world’s largest refugee camp.

Concern Worldwide Bangladesh’s Country Strategic Plan 2022 - 2026 aims to contribute to bringing sustainable, positive changes in the lives of people living in extreme poverty in Bangladesh.

We will achieve this through working on five particular pillars – ensuring sustained change from our programmes (predominantly in the health, nutrition and livelihoods sectors); climate change; humanitarian action; working through partnership; and equality, diversity and inclusion.

We deliver programmes following five strategic objectives, aligned with the Government priorities outlined in the 8th Five Year Plan of the Government and with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).

We have been fighting extreme poverty in Bangladesh since 1972. For 50 years, we have worked with the most vulnerable people to reduce extreme poverty.

You can find out a lot more about our work in Bangladesh - including the areas of Climate Change and Flood Resilience - by clicking on the following documents.