AHP along with 6 leading agencies join forces to tackle Covid-19 in Bangladesh

Six leading humanitarian agencies in Bangladesh along with the Australian government have joined forces to overcome the challenges of Covid-19 in the country. 

The pact known as the Australian Humanitarian Partnership (AHP) plans to slow the spread of COVID-19 through increasing health services and improving access and delivery of water, sanitation and hygiene programs for vulnerable communities said a press release on Thursday. 

The agencies included in the pact are Plan international Bangladesh, Save the Children, CARE Bangladesh, World Vision, Oxfam and Caritas Bangladesh. 

To reduce the potential impact of Covid-19 in vulnerable communities the six agencies have contributed individually to fight this coronavirus pandemic and help the vulnerable communities of the country. 

Plan International Bangladesh has allocated $530,000 AUD (BDT 29 million) to support 72,000 people, in particular - children, girls, young women, the elderly, people living with chronic illness, and people living with disabilities in Cox's Bazar and Kurigram districts - with cash distribution, distant education, child protection, distribution of hygiene kits and PPE, dissemination of awareness messages and also case management programmes specifically in Rohingya camps.  

Save the Children has planned to deliver Covid-19 response activities worth $500,000 AUD (BDT 27 million) to 47,000 Rohingya refugees and their host population including the running and staffing of seven health centers, and implementing Community Case Management programs, while CARE Bangladesh's efforts have reached around 12,000 people under the current projects funded by the Australian Government. 

Oxfam has already planned to allocate around $272,000 AUD (BDT 15 million) to support 30 thousand Rohingya refugees in the camp during the Covid-19 outbreak. 

World Vision Bangladesh has also planned to allocate $500,000 AUD (BDT 27 million) to extend COVID19 prevention support to 26,965 Rohingya refugees and the host community population.

Caritas as part of CAN-Do network allocated about $400,000 AUD (22.24 Million taka) to conduct community awareness, distribute hand sanitizer, masks, disinfectants and PPE; promote handwashing facilities and hygiene practices; provide unconditional cash and support the health systems. 

All six aid agencies are scaling up the activities in a three-year consortium programme of $44 million AUD supported by the Australian Government and implemented through the Australian Humanitarian Partnership which aims to meet the humanitarian and protection needs of the vulnerable populous of the country.