Grameenphone (GP) and Bangladesh Red Crescent Society (BDRCS) have distributed relief among the flood-affected people. GP has been facilitating flood-affected communities in partnership with the Bangladesh Red Crescent Society (BDRCS) to help fight the ordeal through relief and rehabilitation efforts, said a media release.   It said four medical camps have hence been deployed in Netrokona, Sylhet, and Sunamganj, providing medical consultancy and necessary medicines to the flood-affected people in the nearby impacted upazilas free of cost. Read: BTRC places indefinite suspension on GP SIM card sale The teams have been dedicated to working from June 29 and are expecting to offer treatment to more than 6 thousand patients throughout the 10-day initiative, finishing on July 8. Till July 3, a total of 2,173 patients have been treated through four medical teams. Netrokona Sadar, Barhatta, Kalmakanda, Dakshin Surma, Kanaighat, Osmaninagar, Balaganj, Bishwanath, Companiganj, Gowainghat, Bishwambarpur, and Sunamganj Sadar are the upazilas that are set to be covered under this collective effort from Grameenphone and BDRCS. Read AIBL donates Tk10 crore to PM's relief, welfare fund Besides the medical camps, soon, there shall also be 15 thousand food relief packs distributed among 15 thousand families as one week's essential food supply for each family. Earlier, GP offered 10 minutes of free talk time for its users struggling in the inundated areas to help them reach out to meet survival needs. "The sudden flash flood brought a grave crisis in the north and north-eastern belt of our nation. While our team, in collaboration with regulators, local administration, defence forces and network operating partners, fought hard to restore the emergency mobile network lifeline and connectivity to the people when they needed it the most; we have also simultaneously assessed the distressed communities' healthcare and food support needs and managed to stand by them. I am thankful to the Bangladesh Red Crescent Society for helping us reach out to the people through emergency response." - said Yasir Azman, GP CEO.   Read National Bank donates Tk11 crore to PM's relief, welfare fund

Bangladesh Red Crescent Society has started the distribution of Ramadan food packs among 15,300 poor families hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic in the country. With the support of Qatar Red Crescent Society, the food packages are being distributed among the poor depending on daily labour in the capital and several districts. Of them, 500 families are getting the food support in Dhaka city, while 1,000 families in Rajshahi city, 1,000 others in Rajshahi district, 500 families each in Narsingdi, Munshiganj and Narayanganj districts, as well as 10,300 families from displaced Rohingya living in Ukhia Camp-11 and local community in Ukhia of Cox’s Bazar. Also read: Local Red Crescent chapter receives 4 ambulances equipped against COVID-19 Besides, 1,000 other families are receiving  food assistance through the headquarters of Bangladesh Red Crescent Society. The food packages are also being distributed maintaining the health hygiene rules amid the Covid-19 pandemic, said a press release on Sunday. Ultra-poor, helpless, disability and low-income families are given priority in the selection of beneficiaries for the food assistance. Also read: Covid-19: Red Crescent Society launches isolation, treatment centers in Cox's Bazar Date, pulse, soybean oil, sugar, salt, puffed rice, chira, chickpea, and vermicelli are included  in the food packs. Director of Disaster Response Division of the Society Mizanur Rahman said the distribution of Ramadan food packages is a part of the humanitarian assistance of the Red Crescent Society.     “The Ramadan food packages will be distributed among total 15,300 families,” he said. Also read: Red Crescent donates PPE to 4 Covid-19 dedicated hospitals Besides, under the initiative of Red Crescent Society, the distribution of cooked healthy food among extreme poor and low-income floating people continue in Dhaka, Chattogram, Habiganj, Barguna, Munshiganj and Sunamganj amid the Covid-19 lockdown. A total of 8,016 packets of cooked food were distributed among the poor from April 18 to April 22 last during the lockdown, said Mizanur Rahman. Moreover, the disbursement of food packages among 4,000 extreme poor and low-income people in both Amphan and Covid-19-affected four districts – Khulna, Satkira, Bagerhat and Pirojpur – continues under the initiative of the society with the support from HSBC bank. Read Covid-19 in Bangladesh: PM allocates Tk 10.50cr for affected poor

International support is needed to maintain humanitarian services for more than 13,000 people who have been relocated to Bhasan Char island from Cox’s Bazar, the IFRC said Monday. This appeal follows an independent visit by representatives from the Bangladesh Red Crescent Society and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) to the river island. It requested the Government of Bangladesh, humanitarian agencies and international donors to do everything possible to keep people displaced from Rakhine State safe and able to live with dignity, wherever they are located, including on Bhasan Char.  The team found that the Government of Bangladesh has made progress on Bhasan Char in terms of the development of infrastructure.  However, it also found urgent investment is needed to ensure that women and children are adequately protected, and that food security, health care and schooling is assured both in the short and longer-term.  While evacuation centres are in place to keep people safe from disasters, there remain concerns that the island could be exposed during the upcoming cyclone season and that systems are further strengthened to manage the potential isolation caused by storms.  Feroz Salah Uddin, Secretary General, Bangladesh Red Crescent, said, “After nearly four years of living in precarious camps in cramped conditions, many people are relocating to the island of Bhasan Char and we are providing a range of relief services at this critical time.  Also read: 6 lakh people in Rohingya camps “exposed” to cyclone risks: IFRC    “Bangladesh Red Crescent is working with authorities to deliver food packages, hygiene items, sanitation and health services to thousands of people on the island for the coming months.”  Sanjeev Kafley, Bangladesh Head of Delegation, IFRC, said with the cyclone season fast approaching, people on Bhasan Char could become stranded with a shortage of food when major storms strike, leaving the sea passage impassable, in turn denying the delivery of relief, medicines and other vital supplies.  “Everyone relocating must have access to all of the essentials for a healthy life, including nutritious food, hygiene items such as soap, along with health and medical care. Women and children must be afforded protection from violence and other risks.  Also read: 1,800 more Rohingyas moved to Bhasan Char “People who are now living on Bhasan Char have been through so many hardships and they deserve opportunities for a fulfilling life, with opportunities to start new livelihoods and access to education and other activities,” Kafley said.

Twenty-nine Bangladeshi nationals, who were released from Malir and Karachi jails in Sindh province of Pakistan, will be brought back home on Wednesday.

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) on Monday handed over four new ambulances and a COVID-19 sample collection van to Bangladesh Red Crescent Society (BDRCS) to help them transfer patients to hospitals and support COVID-19 sample collection and testing.

Dhaka is home to 21 million people – most of whom live below the poverty line.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), in collaboration with the Bangladesh Red Crescent Society (BDRCS), has been carrying out an "intensive infection prevention and control" (IPC) programme in Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT).

Chinese Ambassador to Bangladesh Li Jiming on Thursday handed over 14,280 surgical masks provided by Yunnan Province to Bangladesh Red Crescent Society (BDRCS).

The European Union is providing EUR 100,000, almost Tk 10 million, in humanitarian aid funding to assist the most vulnerable communities in response to severe flooding that has affected nearly one-third of Bangladesh.

The European Union is providing EUR 100,000 for early anticipatory action to reduce the negative impact on the most affected communities due to floods in Bangladesh.   The aid is coming in response to severe flooding that submerged many parts of Bangladesh in late June.   The aid will benefit over 3,300 families in some of the hardest hit areas in Kurigram, Gaibandha and Jamalpur districts, said the EU Embassy here on Tuesday.   The EU funding supports the Bangladesh Red Crescent Society in using reliable scientific forecast information and risk analysis to foresee the potential impact of the floods and to conduct early actions aimed at reducing human suffering, losses and damage.   The aid includes evacuating the most vulnerable communities to safe shelters with their assets and livestock, providing unconditional cash grants, as well as providing first aid treatment.   The funding provided is part of the EU's overall contribution to the Forecast-based Action (FbA) by the Disaster Relief Emergency Fund (DREF) of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC).   Heavy monsoon rainfall triggered extensive floods in northern and eastern areas of Bangladesh, causing extensive damage to homes and farmlands across the delta nation’s vast northern regions.   Thousands of people have found themselves marooned or displaced, said the EU.   The flooding could affect up to a million households over the first days of July, it said.