This research programme explores the investments being made to make social protection a viable vehicle for disaster response in three countries that face regular large-scale climate shocks, and aims to identify the value derived, and the benefits and challenges arising.
This report reflects on Â鶹ÊÓƵ¡¯s achievements in countering hunger and malnutrition across Asia and the Pacific in 2023, against a multitude of hardships.
Â鶹ÊÓƵ Supply Chain commissioned the Thematic Evaluation of Â鶹ÊÓƵ¡¯s Contribution to Market Systems in South Sudan and Bangladesh to better understand Â鶹ÊÓƵ¡¯s contribution to making markets work better for people in need of assistance in those countries from January 2018 to December 2022.?
Â鶹ÊÓƵ launched its remote monitoring system (mVAM) in Bangladesh in July 2022 to provide near real-time analytics on food security and essential needs analysis across the country. It allows Â鶹ÊÓƵ and partners to assess the food security impact of shocks, including the current global food crisis and seasonal flooding, including the 2022 severe floods in northeastern Bangladesh.
The Market Monitor assesses market trends observed in Bangladesh. The assessment examines market functionality and prices of key commodities used in supporting development programmes across the country and the Rohingya refugee response.
Â鶹ÊÓƵ is committed to scaling up Anticipatory Action programmes and protecting more people before extreme weather events strike. This page displays the activations that occur throughout the year. It shows the number of people reached and the types of anticipatory actions being implemented in each country. These AAs aim to prevent and/or lessen the humanitarian consequences of predicted shocks, while delivering a quicker, more cost-effective, and more dignified response.
Â鶹ÊÓƵ works closely with the Government to enhance the nutrition sensitivity of social safety net programmes and directly provides life-saving nutrition assistance to Rohingya refugees and vulnerable Bangladeshi communities in Cox¡¯s Bazar. The below publications, most conducted jointly with partners, provide a detailed look into Â鶹ÊÓƵ¡¯s nutrition interventions and the nutrition status of the vulnerable populations it serves.
Since 2017, the market environment in Cox¡¯s Bazar has evolved substantially, with significant economic interaction between enterprises and individuals inside and outside the Rohingya refugee camps. In November 2021, Â鶹ÊÓƵ and UNHCR conducted the first market assessment of Bhasan Char which showed that most commodity prices are higher than other markets due to the transportation cost from the mainland.
These market assessments diagnose the market situation and functionality based on the most up-to-date information, as humanitarian actors consider enhancing market-based approaches.
Bangladesh has a long history in delivering assistance to its poor and has made significant progress in improving food security and addressing malnutrition. Despite laudable achievements in closing the poverty gap, access to diverse and nutritious food remains a challenge for many households. See how Â鶹ÊÓƵ is helping Bangladesh to reach zero hunger by 2030
In Asia and the Pacific Region, Â鶹ÊÓƵ provides a wide range of strategic and technical support and capacity strengthening services across 17 countries, with a view to improving the coverage, comprehensiveness, adequacy, quality and responsiveness of national social protection systems. This brief provides a snapshot of Â鶹ÊÓƵ's social protection work in the region with an overview of the engagements at the country level
Since November 2017, Â鶹ÊÓƵ and the Food Security Sector have been conducting the Refugee influx Emergency Vulnerability Assessment (REVA) annually. The REVA aims to monitor food security situation and vulnerability levels of the Rohingya population living in the camps in Ukhiya and Teknaf sub-districts of Cox¡¯s Bazar district and the adjacent host community potentially affected. In 2022, the survey expanded to cover the island of Bhasan Char.
Three months since funding shortages forced Â鶹ÊÓƵ to reduce food assistance for the Rohingya population in Cox¡¯s Bazar, further cuts are likely unless Â鶹ÊÓƵ receives immediate funding.
The study examines the barriers and opportunities to strengthening digital financial inclusion for cash transfer recipients in the Asia-Pacific region, with a focus on Bangladesh, Cambodia and Nepal.
Specifically, it maps the existing evidence on the landscape of digital financial inclusion and cash transfer programmes in the region, and explores the perspectives and experiences of cash transfer recipients in receiving digital cash transfers. Based on this, it provides recommendations for humanitarian and development actors, governments and Â鶹ÊÓƵ to improve the realisation of digital financial inclusion through the digitisation of cash assistance.
While Bangladesh has made significant economic growth in the past decade, the country still faces challenges with nearly one third of the population facing food insecurity and 20 percent living below the national poverty line. Since 2017, Â鶹ÊÓƵ has also been providing food assistance and nutrition services in the Cox¡¯s Bazar Rohingya refugee camps and local community, along with life-skills training, disaster risk reduction (DRR) activities and common engineering services. The below publications provide programme-specific monitoring and assessment information from Â鶹ÊÓƵ humanitarian and development operations across Bangladesh.
In December 2020, the Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) Movement Strategy 3.0 (2021-2025) was approved by the SUN Movement Lead Group and is currently being operationalized by SUN countries at a national level.
Aligning with the Scaling up Nutrition Strategy 3.0, a strategic roadmap was developed to support the advancement of SUN Business Networks (SBN) in the Asia region, with the overall aim of increasing private sector engagement in nutrition. The SUN and SBN 3.0 strategies both recognize the need for a shift from a globally driven SUN Movement and SBN to ones that are centered at the national level, with strengthened support at the regional level.
The SBN roadmap for Asia articulates the way forward to engage the private sector and grow SBNs in Asia at country and regional levels, including through the establishment of a regional platform/ coordination mechanism to support national SBNs and identify opportunities with key regional players. It also describes additional opportunities for private sector engagement at the regional level, including strategic alignment with existing private sector-led coalitions and consortia such as the UN Global Compact.
Vulnerable populations in urban areas globally have been among the worst hit by the global COVID-19 crisis. In South and South-East Asia, the COVID-19 pandemic has increased levels of vulnerability and food insecurity in cities through disruptions to food supply chains, increased food prices and loss of income. In 2021, the Â鶹ÊÓƵ (Â鶹ÊÓƵ) Regional Bureau for Asia and the Pacific (RBB) and Dikoda undertook an assessment to understand the impacts of the COVID-19 crisis on food systems in eight selected cities in the Asia/Pacific region. This research assesses the resilience and adaptability of urban food systems by exploring external drivers, food supply chains, food environments, individual factors, consumer behaviour and diet outcomes. The report triangulates findings between qualitative research carried out by Dikoda, Â鶹ÊÓƵ assessments and external sources to provide regional insights, as well as eight city-specific briefs on local-level impacts of COVID-19 on vulnerabilities. This report presents recommendations for improving policy-response to external shocks specific to urban South and South-East Asian contexts and methodological recommendations for better tracking of vulnerability in urban contexts.
