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The January 2024 elections in Bangladesh saw the Awami League win a fifth term, amid an opposition boycott. Following protests, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina resigned in August 2024, creating a period of political, economic and security uncertainty under an interim government.
In a special episode of I Think You’re On Mute, in partnership with the UK Humanitarian Innovation Hub, we explore key research insights from our recent report: A Window of Opportunity: Priorities for Humanitarian System Reform in Bangladesh.
Host Beth Eggleston is joined by Dr. Ehsanur Rahman and Farah Kabir to discuss how the humanitarian system can better address the challenges and opportunities emerging from Bangladesh’s shifting political landscape, offering humanitarians a unique window of opportunity.
Podcast host and guests
Beth Eggleston
Beth is the Director of the Humanitarian Advisory Group (HAG) and co-founded the organisation in 2012. She has worked in the humanitarian sector specialising in civil-military coordination and humanitarian reform for the last two decades and has field experience in Afghanistan, Liberia, Tonga, Costa Rica, Laos PDR, Timor-Leste, and Vietnam.
Dr. Ehsanur Rahman
Dr. Rahman is a social development professional with specialisation in education and diverse humanitarian services. He is an active proponent of localisation of humanitarian actions, humanitarian-development nexus and community learning spaces as tools for community empowerment. As humanitarian actor he remains engaged with various civil society organisations in Bangladesh and at international level.
At present Dr. Rahman is an Adviser of National Alliance of Humanitarian Actors in Bangladesh (NAHAB) and a Convening Committee member of CSO Alliance. At the international level, he is an Oversight Body member of the NEAR Change Fund.
Farah Kabir
Farah is a is a justice advocate, a feminist and human rights activist. She has been working as a development practitioner for mor than 30 years. She is engaged with many national and international professional societies and is the co-editor of two publications, namely ‘Discourse Analysis as a Tool for Understanding Gender Identity, Representation and Equality’ and ‘Revealing Gender Inequalities and Perceptions in South Asian Countries through Discourse Analysis’. Farah has contributed to women in politics through her writings and policy advocacy nationally as well as internationally.
Podcast research and links
- Humanitarian Advisory Group | A Window of Opportunity: Priorities for Humanitarian System Reform in Bangladesh
Podcast transcript
Beth Eggleston: Before we begin, I’d like to acknowledge the Traditional Custodians and their ancestors of the unceded lands and waters on which we live, work and depend. We recognise all First Nations peoples around the world and celebrate their enduring connections to country, and pay our respects to elders past, present, and emerging.
Welcome to the next series of I Think You’re On Mute, where we will be looking at pressing issues as they arise, and hopefully introduce you to some ideas and perspectives you haven’t considered. In this episode, we dive into the heart of one of the most pressing humanitarian landscapes in the world today, Bangladesh. A country of contrasts, Bangladesh is celebrated for its rapid economic growth, resilient communities and robust disaster management frameworks. Yet it’s also a land grappling with profound vulnerabilities, political upheaval, climate risks and humanitarian challenges that test the limits of even the most resilient systems.
[Soundbite: ABC News]
Beth Eggleston: The political landscape in Bangladesh has undergone a seismic shift in the past year. In January 2024, the Awami League secured another five-year term only for Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to resign amid protests eight months later. An interim government now faces a trifecta of challenges political, economic and security instability. These developments reverberate deeply across the humanitarian system, which is intricately linked to national and subnational governance. Bangladesh has long been a global model in disaster preparedness, thanks to its Cyclone Preparedness program and local disaster management committees. Yet the gaps are glaring. Power remains centralised in Dhaka, sidelining local leadership when it matters most. Humanitarian funding is shrinking as the country approaches middle income status. And data systems, they’re struggling, leaving many unseen and unheard during moments of crisis. The new report we’re unpacking today highlights four critical areas for reform. Firstly, decentralisation and local leadership. Secondly, professionalisation and data systems. Thirdly, coordination and financing. And lastly, taking a nexus approach. Firstly, decentralised decision-making has stifled innovation and transparency. The call is clear, shift the power to the grassroots, enabling communities to lead disaster responses tailored to their unique context. Secondly, on professionalisation and data systems from Dhaka to the district level, the need for expertise is dire. Disaster management offices often lack the training to collect and act on the disaggregated data needed for inclusive response. On coordination and financing, Bangladesh’s dual humanitarian systems – the government and international – too often work in silos, duplicating efforts and wasting resources. Meanwhile, international funding is expected to decline by 2031, urging the adoption of innovative financing models. On the Nexus approach, our favourite word, nexus, in places like Cox’s Bazar, where over a million Rohingya refugees reside, short term fixes dominate, while sustainable integrated solutions lag. Addressing these issues requires a cohesive approach connecting humanitarian aid, development and peacebuilding. And here’s where it gets persona, this is not just a story of systems and statistics. It’s about people, flood survivors who’ve waited too long for aid, women and youth excluded from decision making, and local leaders fighting for their communities voices to be heard. In this episode, we’ll hear directly from those on the ground, explore the report’s proposed solutions and challenge ourselves to think differently about how we can support a more equitable, efficient, and localised humanitarian response. Because at the heart of this discussion is a belief that the solutions to these challenges already exist within the communities they’re designed to help. So grab a cup of tea, settle in, and join us as we navigate the complexities, challenges and opportunities of Bangladesh’s humanitarian future.
Hello! I’m so pleased to be joined today by Dr. Ehsanur Rahman, an advisor of the National Alliance of Humanitarian Actors in Bangladesh, and he’s also a convening committee member of the CSO Alliance. Dr. Rahman, could you please introduce yourselves to our listeners?
Dr. Ehsanur Rahman: Hello, Ehsanur, the short time is better to pronounce, to discuss, to talk. As you said, I’m working closely with the National Alliance of Humanitarian Actors, which is a hub. So for the short name, it’s okay for us, to talk, this is an alliance of the, humanitarian, national non-government organisations working in Bangladesh. And I have been the founding chairperson and now in advisory capacity, working in Bangladesh. There is also an alliance from which I’m in the convening committee, the Civil Society Alliance, which takes the overall non state actors together. So I’m connected in both. It’s a pleasure to meet you all.
Beth Eggleston: Thank you so much Ehsanur and I think we are so lucky to have you today because you are connected in to these different organisations and coordination platforms. And the first question that I would like to ask you is about those coordination platforms and what hope do you see for change in Bangladesh when it comes to local humanitarian actors and the way in which they’re coordinating in the next few years?
Dr. Ehsanur Rahman: That’s a journey. We started this is Bangladesh is a disaster prone country, we have been facing disasters, natural disasters, mostly. So, our target is to build a resilient community so that they can take care of themselves. That’s why we are giving much emphasis on the local level coordination and local level leadership in addressing the catastrophe or crisis. What happens whether it’s a cyclone, flood or any other type, so that people can take leadership and the decisions can be made. At present is largely centrally managed and coordinated, so we want to make a change from the central to the ground level. And that’s one part. On the CSO as a whole, the civil society sector. You know, in Bangladesh, there is a big change in, going on now. And, a lot of reforms are going on because of this change in the government system. So many reform agendas are coming in the also in the humanitarian sector, we are taking initiative to bring the changes in the sector as a whole. We are not talking about decentralisation. It doesn’t work in a particular sector alone. So there needs to be changes across the sector. So that is one, also we are keeping in mind.
Beth Eggleston: How does when that power is centralised, how does that impact the local humanitarian actors who you work with and how does it affect those disaster affected populations?
Dr. Ehsanur Rahman: There are two dimensions of that. You know, we as a hub, as an alliance of humanitarian actors, we work with the local actors who are Bangladeshi, who closely work with the communities which get affected because of this cyclone of flood or other natural disaster. So one aspect is the practices which are required in that particular context. If it’s because of flood, because of river erosion, for example, then the whole steps and strategies would be different when the flood is a flash flood, which comes because of heavy rainfall in the upstream. So that’s why the local actors really are familiar with those context, and the communities live with that. So working closely with the affected communities is very important for us. And that can be done only if the local actors get enough opportunities and spaces to take decision at that level. And there lies the coordination among the humanitarian actors as well as from the external agencies, which goes to help the people is very important over there.
Beth Eggleston: Yes, I agree it’s both, within the system. It’s both the international agencies and those local agencies. So I’m interested, in understanding that that big shift, that big systems change. What are your hopes of that being able to occur? So how do you feel that there are going to be sort of durable humanitarian solutions in change in Bangladesh in the future?
Dr. Ehsanur Rahman: Yes. Systemic change is a big area where really we all need to work because we all are part of the system. Whether we work at the ground level, we work at a subnational level or national level, international level or even who are coming with the financial support, the donors, private sectors all are part of the system. The at the end, we want to establish, an accountability mechanism in the system so that everybody feels accountable to the affected community to bring changes in their life so that they can recover, they can, go back to their business, recovery their business loss, so that part is in the frame. But in many systems, still the accountability element is not established, so that is an area that as we are talking on that, so that people feel that, okay, that’s the prime part. Unless there is change in the life of the affected community, whole efforts to support or rehabilitation or recovery support outcomes, those come on a sporadic basis. For the systemic changes we want to make this humanitarian system as part of the development agenda. So that is not in isolation, supporting some people for some days for food or with non-food items or some shelters as an ad hoc basis. So for humanitarian services are short span. We want to make the this part of this local development initiative. So that is another big agenda because we want to bring system, the system has to be really to cover the development initiatives as well.
Beth Eggleston: And I would love to ask you, Ehsanur, I’m glad that you raised the piece around accountability. What would be one piece of advice that you would give to local humanitarian actors in Bangladesh to help boost their work around accountability to affected communities?
Dr. Ehsanur Rahman: The first responders are always the local, actors, whether they are the local, NGO or private business or the neighbour. Traditionally the support to the affected community, affected households, are that we consider as a part of our heritage. So what, so to them, it comes absolutely from humanitarian point to be to help the people. So whenever the next round of supports come from, central, from the national or international communities, we want to spread that spirit to that level so that it comes to their mind always. What ultimately, the benefit or effect, this supports ongoing, bringing to the life of the people, the community. Whether you say communication that comes from the roads and bridges, whether it is, shelter, then it comes from the household level when there are the needs support for people or with persons with disabilities that need for supports that are different, but at the end, all planning has to be around the house we are supporting around the family or around the person we are supporting that need to be at the top of the list.
Beth Eggleston: Yes, I couldn’t agree more. I think you’ve articulated that so well, because it doesn’t matter how long we talk about system change or humanitarian reform, this is the whole reason why we’re doing this, is to provide better services and better assistance for those who need it most. Thank you so much, Dr. Rahman for your insights today. It’s been really, really interesting hearing about your perspective, and we wish you all the best with your work that you’re doing in Bangladesh. Thank you so much.
Dr. Ehsanur Rahman: Thank you very much for this initiative and helping us connecting each other in different parts of the world. Thank you.
Beth Eggleston: I’m so pleased to welcome Farah Kabir to the podcast. Farah is the Country Director for ActionAid Bangladesh. Farah, could you please introduce yourself to our listeners?
Farah Kabir: Hi, Beth. Thank you for inviting me. I’m Farah Kabir, the Country director of ActionAid Bangladesh. And, we are working on, a rights-based approach, but we have a strong humanitarian program. ActionAid actually came to Bangladesh because of humanity in response way back in the 80s. And we are now 40 years in this country, and it’s become more a national program as well. We have any rights-based feminist organisation looking at community, strength and people power and creating these response humanity in response as a part of community action as well. So it’s not like we just, go in and give them some food support and shelter support and then walk away. It’s more about building resilience. As you know, Bangladesh is very vulnerable to climate, induced disasters. And, there are human, induced disasters, development disasters. And, we have tried to work around them, you know, build community resilience. So our focus very much is on localisation and, working with community, respecting their Indigenous knowledge, looking for solutions, from the grassroots and nature based solutions.
Beth Eggleston: Yes. We have always been impressed with the work that ActionAid does around shifting the power. And I suppose my first question touches on this a bit. I’d be very interested, as in your role as being a Country Director with ActionAid Bangladesh, what are your hopes of, you know, for building durable humanitarian solutions for humanitarian challenges in Bangladesh?
Farah Kabir: So, my hope is, given that Bangladeshis are very resilient and the way we have been able to gain the trust of the community, we need to prioritise localisation work, to build climate resilience communities through adaptation initiatives. And, we must remember that Bangladesh is host to 1.2 billion Rohingya refugees. So the refugees support, the humanitarian crisis there, which is now become a protracted crisis. But all of this requires an integrated humanity approach. So we have also evolved as a country, government and different political actors and stakeholders, but there’s a lot more to do in terms of integration and working with complementary inter-sectoral approach.
Beth Eggleston: Yes, absolutely. I’d love to ask you about what some of the barriers, that you face to, to actually have this integrated approach and a localised approach. What’s, what’s difficult, in doing that for you?
Farah Kabir: So, Bangladesh, in some ways, you know, it’s centralised decision making and, actions and budgets come from the centre. So the, localisation or decentralisation of power does play up in different locations. But given that Bangladesh has now developed the skills. So humanitarian response and the different stakeholders are very prompt, and they do, respond immediately. But, you know, you have to have a plan and you need to be in an organised manner. And when you are challenged by repeated disasters, for instance, in September 2024, we had floods in a part of eastern Bangladesh. And that community had never, had not experienced flood in 30, 35 years. So that all the anticipatory work, the preparedness, community based disaster preparedness. What has been going on, but not necessarily in that particular location and community because they have not faced such floods in, you know, three decades plus. So this is when it becomes a challenge when we see the, new humanitarian requirements coming up for communities who are not prepared. So capacity can be an issue. One of the major issues is we have limited resources and we spend huge amount of our GDP national budget for disaster response. Because, you know, in this September flood, communities lost their homes, the roads, their crops, the cattle, the livelihood, there was water shortage. So it’s not easy. So fund funding gaps and when you do get some funds, they are always very short term, you know, immediate funds from development partners. So that is an issue. And then in the situation, like the Rohingya refugee crisis, there is it’s very difficult to keep the attention on the Rohingyas andsometimes there’s donor fatigue. Sometimes there are too many crises going on around the world where there’s competing priorities so development partners have to prioritise, so that is an issue. I think, when we are looking at, decentralising and localising, there’s a power issue. And as a feminist organisation, this is something we keep challenging, the breaking down of this power hierarchy, it should be positive power. Positive power within instead of, you know, based on the bureaucracy or hierarchy and so on. So that’s, challenge. But we have seen a shift of, towards a bottom up approach. So, I am very positive on that. So that is a challenge then whatever we do, we are extremely climate vulnerable, you know, the sea levels are rising, extreme weather is patterns are increasing, causing displacement, loss of food, water security, livelihood. So this is a very, very big challenge for us. Then when we are looking at the different composition, the demography and composition of communities affected, we have found that marginalised groups, women, Indigenous communities, young people, persons with disability may not immediately be included or they face certain amount of exclusion. And then there’s coordination issue, with a lot of good intention, people jump in, but it doesn’t work like that, you know, it has to be planned, chalked out, agreed and so that coordination is critical for a humanitarian response. So that is also a problem. And then if you are a part of a community which is far flung in different, difficult, hard to reach areas, information may not reach. In the case of the September floods, even with the army and helicopters they could not reach a lot of the communities they were in such hard to reach places. So these challenges, the reality on the ground.
Beth Eggleston: Thank you that there’s some great examples here that really paint a picture of how complex and challenging things are in Bangladesh. You did mention Farah around the resourcing piece and I would like to ask you, because so many of us at the moment are facing real constraints on the resourcing side, I’d love to ask you about innovative solutions that exist to addressing this current funding crisis and, you know, what could different actors do about that? So, for example, governments or civil society or international actors, what roles can they play in tackling that challenge?
Farah Kabir: You know, the government, of course, is mandated and then has to serve its, citizens. But it does have a resource constraint. And with the national budget constantly being, drawn into humanitarian response, it does face a big challenge. But having said that, I think the government can plan and allocate a certain percentage of that budget and the what we call the district level or at the local level for immediate local responsiveness before the national actors get to the communities. It’s the local groups, it’s the local civil society organisations, women’s group, youth group. So if there is a certain percentage of fund provided. And then we would like to see an integration with the social responsibility or what is known as CSR funding for disaster response. And in the long term, you know, different resilience program will support such initiatives. The civil society and the NGOs have an important role to play because sometimes they’re the first responders along with the women, along with the youth. And so funding mechanism, which is easy, is easily accessible by small organisations, women led organisation is going to be critical for solutions. And in terms of innovative solutions for funding we think that, at the global level, the loss and damage fund, climate finance is always going to be critical and important. Instead of haggling and, you know, every year we are at the climate conference and we are having to put up the different cases. And the 100 billion for adaptation never came through. Then this at the last climate conference I talked about three 300 billion. We need to see that fund rolling out.Tthe private sector has to understand that their businesses, their infrastructure are not safe. So we had to spend a lot of time developing a relationship with the private sector, the different chamber of commerce and industry to support early warning systems and to get them engaged in recovery efforts. Because if you’re a manufacturer and you’re selling a product and if the community is disrupted, they’re in knee high or in water logging situations, they’re not going to buy your product. So now they see the rationale and the logic of why they need to be part of this, these initiatives. So whether it’s early warning or recovery efforts, so that is where the private sector needs to play an important role. And in fact, the government has always highlighted that 80% of funding should come from the private sector and the rest from, public resources. And then for the development partners, it is important that they provide blended finance models, cooperate with tech companies and venture capitalists, and expand the pool funding mechanism. You know, because it’s not going to suffice to say, well, we don’t have so much money or we can’t, you know, we are here for profit making, we’re here for a particular agenda, and, this is the only, available resources for social responsibility. I think they have to understand, and this is where we need to work together through the media, through, government policymakers, that no one is safe unless all of us are safe.
Beth Eggleston: That is so well said, Farah. I love what you’ve painted there about a really interconnected system that is going to be providing the that resourcing into the future and the advocacy that we all need to do to ensure that that happens. Thank you so much, Farah. Thank you so much for joining the podcast and for sharing these invaluable insights about what’s happening at the moment in Bangladesh and what we can expect into the future. Thank you so much.
Farah Kabir: Thank you.
Beth Eggleston: We’ve heard humanitarian actors share their hopes for increased empowerment of local actors and a shift towards local decision making, ensuring that affected populations have a strong voice in shaping solutions that affect them. And we’ve explored the potential actions to address these challenges to support and prioritise a more equitable, efficient and localised humanitarian response in Bangladesh. I really encourage you to read the new report, A Window of Opportunity: Priorities for Humanitarian System Reform in Bangladesh to dive into the opportunities arising for the humanitarian sector, to strengthen systems, processes and partnerships.
This episode was made possible by the Humanitarian Rapid Research Initiative, commissioned and supported by the UK Humanitarian Innovation Hub, with funding from the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. The views shared in this episode are those of the speakers alone and do not necessarily reflect the positions of the organisations they represent.
This podcast was produced and recorded by Room3, a production company that works with not-for-profits and social enterprises, and supported by Green Letter Communications.
