Skip to main content

Bangladesh: Politics and Government

Volume 469: debated on Tuesday 11 December 2007

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will make a statement on the humanitarian situation in Bangladesh. (170638)

As of 1 December 2007, the Government of Bangladesh have reported 3,275 dead, 39,773 injured and 871 missing. They also estimate that the cyclone has affected approximately 30 of Bangladesh’s 64 districts, primarily in Barisal and Khulna Divisions, with more than 8.5 million people affected.

The UK Government has provided £7 million for Cyclone Sidr relief in Bangladesh. The first tranche of £2.5 million went through the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to provide immediate assistance in the form of food, clean and safe water, medical treatment, and housing repairs. The second tranche of £2.5 million will be programmed through Save the Children UK, Oxfam GB, and CARE, to focus on short to medium-term needs such as water, sanitation and hygiene promotion. The remaining £2 million will be for improving access, provision of non-food items such as blankets, disaster management co-ordination and the restoration of livelihoods.