Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today urged the international partners to support Bangladesh’s efforts to implement the National Adaptation Plan for 2023-2050, as USD 230 billion is required towards that end.  “We need 230 billion US dollars for implementing our National Adaptation Plan from both domestic and international resources. Bangladesh continues to seek a 50-50 distribution between adaptation and mitigation from international climate financing,” she said. The premier was addressing the inaugural ceremony of a global hub on Locally Led Adaptation (LLA) at Foreign Service Academy through a virtual platform from her official residence Ganabhaban. She opened the global hub to reinforce Bangladesh’s global leadership on LLA, building on the momentum generated during COP27. Read more: We are promoting grassroots arts and culture: PM Hasina Sheikh Hasina said the National Adaptation Plan will complement the work being done under our Bangladesh Delta Plan 2100 and Mujib Climate Prosperity Plan. “I invite our partners from the international public and private sectors to join us in this effort in the spirit of the Paris Agreement,” she said. The PM said Bangladesh now spends 6-7 percent of the GDP for climate adaptation. Bangladesh has so far implemented 800 projects for both climate adaptation and mitigation under a Climate Change Trust Fund set up with its own resources in 2009, she said. She called upon all major carbon emitting countries to further enhance the scope of their nationally determined contributions. “We must all redouble our efforts to keep the global warming limited to 1.5° Centigrade,” she added. The Prime Minister said the people of Bangladesh have long been using migration as an adaptive response to climate impacts. “We need to give priority to both preventing and managing increased human mobility due to climate change,” she said. Under the flagship Ashrayan programme, her government has built about a million semi-pucca disaster-tolerant houses for the homeless and landless people. The world’s biggest multi-storied housing project for climate migrants is being built at Khurushkul in Cox’s Bazar. Some 5,000 climate-refugee families who migrated from different islands were already rehabilitated in 139 multi-storey buildings there, she said. Read more: Next general election to be held first week of 2024: PM Hasina announces at Cox’s Bazar rally Talking about local climate resilience, Sheikh Hasina said the people of Bangladesh have been living with natural calamities for ages. They have attained some sort of resilience against flood, tidal surge, cyclone and other hazards. “They have learned to adapt to the changing courses of nature. Their collective efforts have turned Bangladesh into a climate adaptation hub,” she said. In Bangladesh, local communities have their traditional knowledge and solutions for climate adaptation. The government also supports those solutions with resources and innovations, she said.  “This combination has served us well in developing a pool of bankable locally-led adaptation measures,” she said. In this context, the PM focused on her government’s success and steps on building cyclone and flood shelters across the country; creating the coastal green belt and artificial mangrove forests through tree plantation; developing saline-, drought- and flood-tolerant crop varieties; adaptation of innovative methods for climate-smart fisheries and livestock rearing; strengthening mechanization in agriculture; promoting roof-top cultivation for food production and heat reduction; dredging rivers, ensuring easy access to safe drinking water for the coastal people; promoting adoption of renewable energy for irrigation purposes, and keeping measures for rainwater harvesting in new public sector buildings. Read more: Bangladesh a role model for women's participation in UN peacekeeping: PM Hasina “Bangladesh is now considered as a role model in disaster risk reduction,” she said.  She said her government will extend all possible support to the Global Hub on LLA. “We are pleased to have this as yet another offering from Bangladesh for the climate vulnerable people around the world,” she said.  The PM hoped that the Global Centre on Adaptation (GCA) South Asian Regional Office, which was launched here in Dhaka in 2020, would emerge as a centre of excellence for the region and beyond. Now the GCA has launched the Global Hub on LLA, responding to the call made by Sheikh Hasina to promote the sharing of experiences of Bangladesh, and other countries on building the climate resilience of vulnerable communities. The global will identify LLA best practices and scale them via investments and partnerships; while advocating, and building capacity, for broader systemic change towards locally led adaptation in countries. The Hub will implement activities that promote progress towards scaling up LLA in at least 25 countries by 2025. GCA Chair and former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, GCA Chief Executive Officer Dr Patrick Verkooijen (through virtual platforms), Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen, Environment Minister Shahab Uddin and British High Commissioner to Bangladesh Robert Chatterton Dickson spoke on the occasion.

The United States has welcomed the arrival of 106,000 doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech’s Covid-19 vaccine to Bangladesh saying the US, Bangladesh and global partners are working closely together to combat this pandemic. This shipment was made possible through the COVAX Advance Market Commitment, a global initiative to support equitable access to Covid-19 vaccines, said the US Embassy in Dhaka on Tuesday.  The United States recently announced an initial $2 billion obligation—of a total planned $4 billion—to GAVI, the Vaccine Alliance to support the COVAX Advance Market Commitment, making the United States the largest donor for equitable global Covid-19 vaccine access. “The Covid-19 pandemic underscores that no nation can act alone against a global pandemic. The United States, Bangladesh, and global partners are working closely together to combat this pandemic,” said US Ambassador to Bangladesh Earl Miller.   “We’re committed to working shoulder to shoulder with the government of Bangladesh to get through this unprecedented global health crisis and put systems in place so we’re more prepared for and resilient in future crises.” Also read: 1 lakh-plus Pfizer vaccine doses reach Dhaka The US contributions to COVAX, through the US Agency for International Development (USAID), will support the purchase and delivery of safe and effective Covid-19 vaccines for the world’s most vulnerable and at-risk populations in 92 low- and middle-income countries. This support is critical to controlling the pandemic, slowing the emergence of new variants, and helping restart the global economy, said the US. READ: European regulators OK Pfizer vaccine for children 12-15  The United States has worked closely with Bangladesh to protect the health of Bangladeshis and strengthen the government’s response to Covid-19, contributing over $76 million to date in development and humanitarian assistance from USAID, the US Department of Defense (DOD), and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).  This assistance helped Bangladesh save lives and treat infected individuals; strengthen testing capacity and surveillance; enhance case management and infection prevention and control practices; improve supply chain and logistics management systems; increase public knowledge; train medical professionals; and ensure an effective roll-out of the vaccination campaign.  Additional US Covid response assistance included supplying 100 state-of-the-art US-manufactured ventilators; gas analysers to allow Bangladesh to produce its own ventilators; and tens of thousands of pieces of locally-produced personal protective equipment (PPE) for frontline workers across Bangladesh. 

US Ambassador to Bangladesh Earl Miller on Tuesday said America continues to work closely with Bangladesh in the fight against COVID-19 noting that the two great nations, together with their global partners, will prevail against this pandemic. He said they have provided over $73 million to support Bangladesh’s pandemic response and to date have sent 100 state-of-the art-U.S.-manufactured ventilators to treat critical patients. Ambassador Miller also gave a shout-out to his alma mater, the University of Michigan: “Go Blue!” The US virtually launched a webinar series linking medical universities in Bangladesh and the United States to share best practices in COVID-19 case management.  The two part-series contributes to the Strengthening Public Health Cooperation for a Safer Economy goal outlined in the September 30 high-level consultation between United States and Bangladesh, specifically by developing a Vision for Advancing the U.S.-Bangladesh Economic Partnership. Tuesday’s webinar was organized via partnership between the Directorate General of Health Services of the Government of Bangladesh and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), in collaboration with the Dhaka Medical College Hospital and Project ECHO, a platform for distant mentoring and learning managed by the University of New Mexico. Also read: US committed to work with Bangladesh to end trafficking-in-persons: Miller It is one of multiple capacity-building initiatives aimed at enhancing the knowledge and medical skills of doctors and other frontline workers in both public and private health facilities to improve the care given to COVID-19 patients and reduce and control the spread of the infection funded over the past year. The programme is made possible through over $73 million in COVID-19 response assistance from U.S. government agencies, according to the US Embassy in Dhaka.

The United Kingdom (UK) sees a real opportunity to do more on trade, development and other areas in the longer term with Bangladesh as the UK formally leaves the European Union (EU) on Friday.