ActionAid Bangladesh (AAB) has worked closely with the survivors and families of the deceased since 2013. AAB provided emergency support during the rescue and developed a comprehensive database of approximately 1400 survivors in 2013. Since 2013 AAB has been using the database to periodically collect information to track the progress of the survivors and families of deceased.

When the Rana Plaza disaster took place, I was working as a journalist for a television channel. I covered the deadly disaster from the very first day. It was a horrible experience, indeed, to witness so many dead bodies, scarred faces, wounded body parts and the weeping faces of the survivors beneath the collapsed roof. As a journalist, I had the opportunity to go inside and witness the situation first hand. I can recall that I could not eat during the day, nor sleep at night. Even after the rescue operations concluded, I could not sleep for months. I still see corpses, blood, families crying and survivors wailing every time I think of the heart-wrenching disaster. I can barely contain my emotions. These emotions and realities remind me of the challenging situations the survivors face in their daily lives.

The influx of Rohingya refugees into Bangladesh since 25 August is now over 370,000 with the figures increasing daily. They are being supported by the Government of Bangladesh, local and international non-governmental organisations and host communities.

Women’s multiple role and responsibilities in home and workplace lead more diverse interactions with the city’s built ecology and their journeys are typically more varied and complex than men’s. UN-Habitat (2012) urges for gender sensitive urban planning and design “as women and the girls make up half the urban population, do more than half the work, do the majority of the care work, and are often subjected to the sexual and gender-based violence, cities ought to be designed and built with women’s and girl’s participation and interests in mind”. To address these critical concerns, gender mainstreaming must be introduced into all aspects of city life, including urban planning and design.

The 2013 Rana Plaza collapse killed more than 1135 garments workers and approximately 2,500 injured people were rescued alive. It is considered the deadliest garment-factory accident in human history. On April 22, 2017 ActionAid Bangladesh shared the 4th Follow up Survey “Unforgettable & unforgivable: Rana Plaza” on the Status of Rehabilitation and Reintegration of the Survivors and Families of Deceased. In 2017, the survey was conducted on survivors and families of deceased. The sample sizes were 1403 and 607 for survivors and families of deceased.

Since joining with ActionAid Bangladesh (AAB) in 2014, I am working on developing the Handloom business as well as handloom sector in Bangladesh. At the time of working with the sector, I gathered a lot of information and data which are hindering the growth of the sector. Nowadays, the sector is declining stage but there is a good prospect of handloom products in our country and outside of our country. The government sector, the private sector and many fascinated individual of Bangladesh are working for the development of the sector but growth is not in significant position.

Madarbari Unnayan Barta is a newsletter published from LRP (Local Rights Programme) 41 of ActionAid Bangladesh, Chittagong.

‘Climate Resilient Sustainable Agriculture Handbook’ (জলবায়ু সহনশীল টেকসই কৃষি নির্দেশিকা) has been developed to enhance the understanding on the issues concerning sustainable agriculture, and to facilitate the process of strengthening the work that ActionAid has been carrying out in this area. It points readers to the key components and topical issues on sustainable agriculture, thereby helping them draw insights in designing local sustainable agriculture programmes

Getting to Good- Towards Responsible Corporate Tax Behavior’ is a discussion paper examining why and how approaching tax responsibility beyond legal compliance benefits companies and the developing countries in which they operate.

The Report, Next Generation 2015 and Beyond, was jointly commissioned by ActionAid Bangladesh, British Council and the University of Liberal Arts of Bangladesh and jointly authored by ActionAidangladesh, British Council, University of Liberal Arts of Bangladesh and the Institute of Informatics and Development. This report provides concise findings on key concerns for young people, their engagement in the different sectors as well as opportunity for scaling initiatives by different stakeholders.

The report details women’s experience of urban public transport in Bangladesh, Brazil and Nigeria, and how lost tax revenues can pay to improve it.