New U.S. Initiative to Improve Resilience and Livelihoods in Communities Impacted by Rohingya Crisis

U.S. Embassy Chargé d’affaires Tracey Jacobson joined Honorable Adviser for Environment, Forest, and Climate Change Syeda Rizwana Hasan to launch the new United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Host and Impacted Community Resilience Activity to improve the livelihoods of Bangladeshis affected by the Rohingya refugee crisis in Cox’s Bazar and the Chittagong Hill Tracts.

Implemented by the local organization Friends in Village Development Bangladesh (FIVDB), this program will provide people with job skills training and economic opportunities, improve access to safe drinking water and proper sanitation and hygiene, and prepare host communities to better mitigate the effects of natural disasters. The initiative will also bring host and impacted communities together with local authorities to protect over 35,000 hectares of land and conserve the area’s precious natural resources.

“Developing sustainable solutions requires us to work together and leverage local expertise to lead the way. This is why we are bringing together partners from government, business, civil society, and most importantly – community members – and equipping them with the skills and resources they need to build brighter and more prosperous futures for themselves,” said Ambassador Jacobson.

This new program builds upon U.S. government support for host communities in Bangladesh as part of more than $2.5 billion in assistance for the regional Rohingya response since August 2017, which includes more than $2.1 billion of support for refugees and host and impacted communities in Bangladesh.

Under the Host and Impacted Community Resilience Activity, FIVDB will lead a consortium of partners comprised of Nature Conservation Management (NACOM), DevWorks International, Helen Keller International, Christian Aid, and

the International Initiative for Impact Evaluation alongside local organizations from the Chittagong Hill Tracts that includes ANANDO, ASHIKA Development Associates, and Bolipara Nari Kalyan Somity to implement this activity.