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ECB first Joint Advocacy Strategy launched in Bangladesh

Published on 1 July 2010

The importance of unambiguous, comprehensive and clearly accountable disaster management legislation is critical to ensure effective humanitarian coordination with government actors, maximize available resources and protect disaster affected communities. The ECB Bangladesh consortium is the first to launch a Joint Advocacy Strategy within the ECB project. This strategy focused on joint efforts to review the legislation currently passing through Bangladesh’s government institutions. The agencies are working together with multiple stakeholders across Bangladesh - including disaster affected communities, national and regional NGOs and civil society, legal and academic experts – to bring about a series of important lasting changes that will support the overall quality and impact of the sector's humanitarian response efforts.

The strategy identifies seven core advocacy issues that focus influencing the enactment of Bangladesh’s first Disaster Management Act. It includes an analysis of how a comprehensive Act would include detailed clarification on government jurisdiction, resource assessment and resource allocation procedures, and compliance measures. This inter-agency group strategy also highlights the need for an Operational Plan to be developed by the government, in close partnership with the humanitarian community, to improve the potential impact of coordinated disaster preparedness and response activities across Bangladesh.

Recent mobilization activities urged the government to respond to the ongoing needs of disaster affected coastal communities one year after Cyclone Aila, and the urgent necessity to repair damages embankments before the imminent start of the next cyclone season. Widespread media coverage highlighted the ECB call to action outlined in the ECB joint policy brief and national journalist testimonies. Both documents emphasize the consortium’s request that the government amend the Disaster Management Act and prioritize the involvement of disaster affected communities in disaster risk reduction and emergency response activities and policy development.

Once the Act is passed there is an opportunity for ECB agencies to play a major role in building awareness of the Act, especially amongst the most vulnerable community groups, and to provide clear and coherent feedback to the government on how effectively the Act has improved their lives following an emergency.

For now the ECB consortium advocacy team is focused on gathering a group of disaster management and legal experts to identify inconsistencies and omissions in the Act. The ECB joint recommendations will seek to ensure that the final draft of the Act will clearly define communities’ rights to receive emergency assistance (entitlement), the quality of emergency response and the obligations of the duty bearers. These joint recommendations will then be shared with the Parliamentary Standing Committee members that will review the current draft of the Act.

Harun Or. Rashid, ECB Field Facilitator, concludes “This Disaster Management Act is critical to ensure that our communities are ready for the disasters that will continue to devastate their lives and homes. If we continue to prepare clear and meaningful joint recommendations we will strengthen our advocacy capacity within ECB agencies and our partners. We will harness our combined energy, networks and influence to bring about a broader government and parliamentary consultation process that will tirelessly seek to improve the quality of the final Act until it is passed.”

For further information or to share your feedback, please contact us at info@ecbproject.org

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