The US Embassy, Dhaka sent a press release to The Asian Age on Friday. It states that as floods spread across Bangladesh, the US government is providing relief assistance, which builds on more than $7 billion in development assistance to Bangladesh since 1971.
As part of ongoing collaboration among the United States, the Bangladeshi Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief, and the United Nations in Bangladesh, United States Ambassador to Bangladesh Earl Miller announced the U.S. government, through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), is providing assistance to vulnerable families in flooded parts of northern Bangladesh who have lost their homes or livelihoods.
Assistance will be offered to the most vulnerable people in two unions in Gaibandha and Kurigram Districts in Rangpur Division who have been displaced or lack food or shelter, and who are not receiving other support.
The assistance includes multipurpose cash grants to those eligible. Additionally, these families will receive an emergency water, sanitation, and hygiene support package, which is critical to avoiding diseases and is especially important to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Recipients will be able to use the cash grants to purchase essential items to meet their immediate needs, which also helps support the local economy during this disaster.
Ambassador Miller said "Immediate help during a flood of this magnitude is critical. As we have been for decades, the US government is committed to standing with the people of Bangladesh and working together with the Government of Bangladesh to help those in need when natural disasters strike."
The areas to be assisted are Bamandanga union in Nageshwari upazila, Kurigram District and Fazlupur union in Fulchari upazila, Gaibandha District. These two areas are among the unions where floods first affected communities.
Additionally, USAID, in coordination with the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and World Meteorological Organization, is training Bangladeshi disaster management professionals on the South Asia Flash Flood Guidance System.