$33m project launched for people vulnerable to climate impacts

The government and UNDP today jointly launched a project of $33 million that will benefit almost 7 lakh people, mostly women and adolescent girls, in climate vulnerable districts of Satkhira and Khulna.

A total of $25 million will come from Green Climate Fund (GCF), a global fund created by the UN member countries, while Bangladesh's Ministry of Women and Children's Affairs is providing $8 million, according to a statement of the UNDP.

The six-year long project, launched at a workshop in a city hotel today, will aid women and girls to adopt resilient livelihoods, while ensuring reliable, safe drinking water through community-managed rainwater harvesting solutions.

It focuses on enhancing women's access to markets and finance. In addition to training in business development, the project will link women's producer groups to business via networking activities and will provide support to access credit from the financial sector.

Addressing the inception workshop, Kamrun Nahar, secretary of the Women and Children Affairs ministry, said, "The project will make a paradigm-shift in the way women will be empowered as 'change-agents' to plan, implement, and manage climate-resilient solutions to safeguard livelihoods and lives and help us to become a middle-income country."

UNDP's Resident Representative, Sudipto Mukerjee, said they are committed to leave no one behind in implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030 with the government and partners like GCF.

However, he said, it cannot be achieved if the women remain ignored as they are more vulnerable to adverse impacts of climate change given the higher risks they face and bear greater burdens every single day.

"That's why, through this project, we are specifically focusing on women and girls to help them adapt better to climate change in Bangladesh," Sudipto further added.