The government of Bangladesh and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) signed an agreement today on 27 December at the Economic Relations Division (ERD) for the implementation of a six-year project titled, ‘Enhancing adaptive capacities of coastal communities, especially women, to cope with climate change induced salinity,’ financed by the Green Climate Fund (GCF).
The $33m project will benefit almost 7 lac people from the disaster prone Satkhira and Khulna districts with a focus on women and adolescent girls. This is first of its kind project in Bangladesh, where the Ministry of Women and Children’s Affairs, providing $8 million, along with GCF, who are providing the rest as a co-financer to plan, implement, and manage climate-resilient solutions.
Attending the signing ceremony, Sudipto Mukerjee, Resident Representative, UNDP Bangladesh said, “The project will limit the impact of climate change as much as possible so that Bangladesh’s commitment to attain the Sustainable Development Goals is smooth, leaving no one behind.” He stressed the importance on bringing transformative changes in the lives of marginalized women through this project to set an example for other countries.
Monowar Ahmed, Secretary, ERD, as the chair of the ceremony said, “The government is committed to building a climate resilient Bangladesh and this project will particularly help women and girls to fight climate change.”
Mahmuda Sharmeen Benu, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Women and Children Affairs, who signed the agreement on behalf of the ministry said, “The project will enhance the leadership capacity of women to fight climate change. The girls will learn new skills for adaptation.”
Earlier Mamunur Rashid, Climate Change Specialist, UNDP Bangladesh, highlighted the summary of the project.
Among others, Sultana Afroz, Additional Secretary, ERD, Md. Saifur Rahman, Chief Engineer, Department of Public Health Engineering (DPHE), also spoke at the event.
