The Covid-19 pandemic has increased disparities, conflicts and displacements globally while lack of funding for UN agencies exposed vulnerabilities of humanitarian system, according to 'State of the Humanitarian System Report 2022: Bangladesh Perspective,' released in Dhaka on Saturday.
It claimed that forced displacements doubled to 89.3 million in 2021, with 161 million people facing acute food insecurity. The need for humanitarian aid surged to 255 million in 2021, projected to reach 339 million in 2023. Funding gaps persist despite reaching $31.3 billion in 2021, and attacks on aid workers increased by 67 per cent.
The report was released at a seminar hosted by COAST Foundation with the support from ANLAP, a London-based network of humanitarian agencies at a city hotel.
Rezaul Karim Chowdhury of COAST Foundation moderated the seminar while Jennifer Doherty of ANLAP presented the keynote paper based on the report. Expressing concern over the disparities between funding and humanitarian needs, speakers stressed the importance of promoting aid localisation to reduce the cost of operation.
The concern has been prompted by rising humanitarian crises affecting people, coupled with decrease in funding.
Department of Disaster Management Director General Mizanur Rahman, Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commissioner Mohammed Mizanur Rahman, UN Resident Coordinator in Bangladesh Ms. Gwyn Lewis, Councilor of British High commission Simon Lever, Deputy Chief Mission of IoM Bangladesh Nusrat Ghazzali, Senior Director of BRAC KAM Morshed, Disaster Forum's Gawher Nayeem Wahra from, Start Fund Bangladesh's Sajid Rahman, Regional Director of Tear Fund Asia Region Sanjeev Bhanja, Mihir Bhatt from AIDM, India, Rafael Sterling from FAO, Wendy McCance from NRC, Shabira Nupur from International Rescue Committee, Shuvankar Chakraborty from MAP Bangladesh and Akbar Hossain from Rangpur Protibondi Foundation spoke among others.
Representatives from local, international NGOs, and UN agencies attended the seminar. In her presentation, Jennifer highlighted the global escalation of conflicts, disasters, and displacement, further exacerbated by the pandemic.
Mizanur Rahman said Bangladesh's expertise in disaster management significantly reduced loss of life by cyclone.
