BRAC and the Embassy of Denmark (EoD) signed a memorandum of understanding on 27 January at the Danish ambassador’s residence to implement a project titled ‘Enhancing Safe Drinking Water Security and Climate Resilience through Rainwater Harvesting’ in Bagerhat District’s Mongla Upazila.
The Danish embassy in Bangladesh will fund the project with a total budget of 29 million DKK over a three-year period in order to supply safe drinking water to 67,300 climate-vulnerable people in Bangladesh.
Mongla is one of Bangladesh’s most climate-vulnerable places, especially when it comes to saline intrusion. More than 60% of the population lacks access to safe drinking water, resulting in health and economic losses. Due to the overburdening of household work and social uncertainty, women and girls are disproportionately affected.
Winnie Estrup Petersen, ambassador of Denmark to Bangladesh, said at the signing ceremony, “We are very happy to take this step to deliver on the talks of COP 26. By 2023, Denmark will provide at least 500 million USD per year globally in grant-based climate finance. Bangladesh is amongst the world’s most climate-vulnerable countries and should of course benefit from our strong climate commitment. This partnership signals first of several Danish commitments to climate adaptation and mitigation programs for Bangladesh starting 2022.”
Highlighting the importance of adapting climate-adaptive measures for the people of the coastal belt of Bangladesh, Asif Saleh, executive director of BRAC said on the occasion, “No one should walk 2 km to fetch drinking water. However, climate change is driving an acute drinking water crisis in coastal Bangladesh. BRAC has been working persistently to ensure this basic human right of getting safe drinking water. We appreciate very much the support of the Embassy of Denmark in this endeavor. Together we will work towards developing a holistic and sustainable model of providing water at the last mile for every single Bangladeshi.”
The purpose of the project is to improve the well-being of the upazila’s most climate-vulnerable residents by providing access to a close source of safe drinking water, a solution that can be duplicated in other comparable areas. The initiative will improve climate resilience through a community-centric, locally-led strategy, while cooperating with the government and other non-governmental actors, in accordance with the Danish Development Strategy “The World We Share.”
