Introduction

The community and market is largely male dominated and the lack of female participation has resulted in the issue of safety and security (for women) as a prerequisite being completely overlooked by the community. In Bangladesh, nutrition and SRH care are interlinked problems: poor food intake causes malnourishment, which leads to poor health and poor SRH perpetuates the intergenerational cycle of undernourishment. One of the key factors leading to (women’s) intake of poor nutritional food at home, poor reproductive, maternal and sexual health stems from lack of life skills (on SRH). Furthermore Women face many internal and external barriers that hinder their access and ability to participate in the market.

To break this cycle, interventions are needed for improving access to nutritious food, access to quality SRH care, access to women-friendly markets and freedom for women to decide over their bodies and lives. ActionAid Bangladesh (AAB) has decided to work with women agro-entrepreneurs, government institutions including private sector organizations responsible for service delivery, school-based adolescent boys & girls as well as market committees.

Objectives:

1- To bring sustainable and systemic changes in existing market behavior that will enable women to perform in the agri-value chain

2- To improve the capacity of targeted women for entrepreneurship, competitiveness, increased productivity and profitability

3- To improve SRHR and nutrition situation of targeted women entrepreneurs and their family members with a focus to SRHR sensitive wider community

agro-entrepreneurs, government institutions including private sector organizations responsible for service delivery, school-based adolescent boys & girls as well as market committees.

In Bangladesh, nutrition and SRH care are interlinked problems: poor food intake causes malnourishment, which leads to poor health and poor SRH perpetuates the inter-generational cycle of undernourishment. Deficiencies in nutrition and SRH care result in poor labor productivity and market performance. One of the key factors leading to (women’s) intake of poor nutritional food at home, poor reproductive, maternal and sexual health stems from lack of life skills (on SRH). Thus, poor reproductive health conditions adversely affect women’s ability to participate in activities outside of the home, which in turn manifests itself as their inability to participate in and shape the market.

On the other hand, women’s contribution to agriculture is counted as unpaid family labor and is grossly underestimated. Women face many internal and external barriers that hinder their access and ability to participate in the market. The community and market is largely male dominated and the lack of female participation has resulted in the issue of safety and security (for women) as a prerequisite being completely overlooked by the community. Besides women face many obstacles to access and effectively participate in the markets due to lack of skills such as basic literacy, technical skills, knowledge on bookkeeping & business plan development, awareness of market prices for products related to their businesses etc. Women also do not organize and meet formally or informally as male entrepreneurs often do as it is not socially acceptable in the context of rural Bangladesh and because women are overburdened with responsibilities/work at home and cannot afford the time to meet. Moreover, market actors tend to be all men making it difficult for women entrepreneurs to have as many direct relationships with input and output market actors as their male counterparts.

To break this cycle, interventions are needed for improving access to nutritious food, access to quality SRH care, access to women-friendly markets and freedom for women to decide over their bodies and lives. ActionAid Bangladesh (AAB), therefore, has decided to work with women agro-entrepreneurs, government institutions including private sector organizations responsible for service delivery, school-based adolescent boys & girls as well as market committees.

Explore

News

Promoting Environmental Awareness and Action: Combating Plastic Pollution and Reducing Fossil Fuel Use

Awareness and action for a healthy environment are growing among the people. World Environment Day, celebrated on June 5th, focuses on solutions to plastic pollution. In Bakalia, activities included an art competition on "Solutions to plastic pollution" with 128 children participating. A rally and discussion sessions raised public awareness, while a workshop engaged 56 participants, including students, youth, parents, teachers, and local elites. Tree plantation activities were conducted at various locations, and saplings were distributed to schools and families. A cycle rally, awareness campaign, leaflet distribution, and community-wide initiatives involved participants from different groups. These efforts promote awareness and action to combat plastic pollution and protect the environment.
Read More

News

Child Change Makers Lead the Way: Taking Action for a Sustainable Future

To observe the One Million Mobilization Campaign, initiatives were undertaken in the Sunamganj and Ghoraghat working areas.
Read More

News

Empowering Children and Youth in Bangladesh: One Million Mobilization Takes a Stand Against the Climate Crisis

One Million Mobilization, in collaboration with ActionAid Bangladesh, is focusing on empowering children and young people to protect the environment and address the climate crisis.
Read More

News

Empowering Children for a Sustainable Future through World Environment Day Celebrations

Children's active participation in World Environment Day celebrations yields a profound impact, driving awareness, education, empowerment, and environmental stewardship. Their involvement ignites a surge of creativity, innovation, and advocacy skills, fostering enduring sustainable practices. By actively engaging children, we seize a transformative opportunity to shape a generation passionately dedicated to environmental conservation and resolute in constructing a sustainable future.
Read More

News

Fostering the Future: Child-Driven Efforts in Combating Plastic Pollution and the Climate Crisis

In line with the advocacy of One Million Mobilization, the focus has shifted to child & youth-led initiatives aimed at safeguarding the environment and mitigating the pressing climate crisis.
Read More

News

Growing a Sustainable Future for Children: Spice Tree Sapling Distribution in Thanchi's Hilly Areas

On the date of on May 30, 2023, ActionAid Bangladesh and its partner organization promote ecological balance and climate sustainability in Thanchi's hilly area by distributing spice tree saplings to empower 68 children and young women for a greener future. Planting these saplings restores biodiversity, balances ecosystems, and educates the community about the importance of planting.
Read More

Event

Capacity-building training on child journalism has motivated children to pursue their dreams:

The objective of the child journalism training is to provide children (trainee journalists) with the concepts and the information that will help them to develop responsible news reporting skills that appreciate and respect children's rights.
Read More

Event

Drama and child competition have an effective power of expression

A child from the drama group Meem (15) said, “while developing the drama script, we were not aware of but after finishing we realized every character of the community has a role to prevent child marriage and we can effectively fit the roles. Along with the parents and community leader, neighbor the role I played has a great responsibility and can positively or negatively tackle child marriage situations.”
Read More

Event

Celebration of Child Rights week 2022 in Social Change

“We girls don't get many opportunities to play sports in our community, especially in public places. But this time on Child Rights Week, a friendly football match competition was organized by ActionAid and BNKS. Where I participate as a team leader. Before the start of the game, my team members and I practiced football in our area for a few days. And this practice was the first-time played football in our life. Playing sports refreshes our minds and increases our social participation. Participating in sports also keeps us physically healthy. Participating in a football match has taught me to think that girls can participate in all social activities, it is our right”, shared by D Hola Wang Marma (16 years adolescent child)
Read More

Event

Children from Sunamganj created awareness among community people during Child Rights Week:

One of the performers, Tamanna (15-year-old) said, “We tried to aware others of the alarming issue of our community. Children are engaging themselves in stone lifting work. After flood, the rate has been increased. It is really alarming as they are dropping out from school. To keep this in mind, we, the cultural team planned to aware others through a street drama, and we did it during Child Rights Week. People from different areas enjoyed the drama, someone even cried. I hope this would be helpful to stop child labor at our community.”
Read More

Event

Children of Ghoraghat are moving towards cultural movement:

This year, Children of Ghoraghat celebrated Child Rights Week through different activities. This time, they focused on street drama presentation as through this, the image of the society can be beautifully displayed. As easily as drama leaves a mark on people's minds, no medium can. So, they decided to portray the image & problems of their area through a street drama.
Read More

Event

An Amusing Picnic Day for Children

Jim (05), a young girl, reading in class two, was very happy to take part in the picnic and shared, “We are very happy that ActionAid Bangladesh arranged this picnic for us. Me and my friends participate in the games. We enjoy a lot. On behalf of all I would cordially thanks to ActionAid to gift us an enjoyable day”.
Read More

Blog, News

Introducing Sahakom Mobile App: Empowering Child Sponsorship Communication through Training of Trainers

ActionAid Bangladesh is thrilled to announce the launch of the Sahakom Mobile App, a groundbreaking technology designed to revolutionize the way we communicate and connect with child sponsors.
Read More

Blog

ClimateInjustice #WaterCrisis

I joined my ActionAid Bangladesh colleagues and volunteers engaged in the preparedness initiatives to mitigate the impact of #cycloneMocha.
Read More

Blog, News

Being trained in leadership, the children of Kurigram are already planning to work on climate change and justice.

Child leadership refers to developing leadership skills in children, while cultural movement refers to the promotion & preservation of cultural values & practices.
Read More

Annual Reports, Publications

ANNUAL REPORT 2022

Your trust and confidence on ActionAid Bangladesh gave us the strength to continue working for ensuring a just and sustainable society for all. Our commitment of long-term partnerships for sustainable change shall not waiver. We therefore dedicate the Annual Report 2022 to ‘Partnership 4 Change’.
Read More