১০ই জুন, ২০২৬ খ্রিস্টাব্দ
সংস্করণ:
PRESS RELEASE : 2,000 flood-affected casual labourers from Kurigram district received an insurance pay-out of taka 2,700. This will contribute towards compensating them for their wage losses caused by flooding throughout the months of July, August and September 2020.
The World Food Programme (WFP) of the United Nations, Oxfam Bangladesh, and the Green Delta Insurance Company Ltd. launched a new insurance scheme in July this year on a trial basis. The purpose was to learn whether this could be useful to support casual agricultural labourers affected by a prolonged monsoon flood like the one that hit Bangladesh this year. The experience from this flood insurance trial will contribute towards designing more appropriate insurance products for the poor and vulnerable.
“Risk insurance transfer mechanisms have the potential to be an effective tool to protect casual labourers from the impact of natural disasters on their ability to work and meet their families’ daily food needs” said Richard Ragan, WFP Bangladesh Country Representative.
The trial scheme and initial product have been developed with funding from the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA). The overall goal of the initiative is to enhance the ability of households in flood-affected areas to deal with shocks while improving their ability to reduce and manage risks as well as maintaining their food security levels.
“It is fascinating to learn that flood insurance is working well, even in a place where flooding occurs almost yearly. This innovative approach can also be tested to support other vulnerable groups like smallholder farmers. KOICA believes that this trial may inspire the Government as well as other development partners of seeing private sector interventions like insurance as a possible effective approach to reduce human sufferings and losses from this kind of catastrophic floods” said Young-ah Doh, Country Director of KOICA Bangladesh Office.
A changing climate with growing intensity of rainfall has increased the frequency of floods in Bangladesh. Especially this past monsoon, the country faced a prolonged flood, destroying homes, crops, livestock, resulting in loss of employment opportunities – and thus income – for casual agriculture labourers. This adverse situation was further compounded by the economic and health impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
