Riccardo Suppo, the Head of Programme at WFP Bangladesh, stressed the criticality of integrating financing components to ensure the sustainability of collective efforts in combating climate change.

"WFP and its partners remain committed to advancing these proven interventions to help vulnerable communities be better prepared for and protected against the adverse impacts of climate-related hazards," reiterated Suppo.

The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), in collaboration with the Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief (MoDMR) of Bangladesh and the European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO), recently organized a lesson-learned workshop on Strengthening Early Warning Systems and Forecast-Based Early Action in Bangladesh.

During the workshop, preliminary findings of a study aiming to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of early warning systems for flash floods and storm surge floods in disaster-prone areas were presented by WFP, MoDMR, and EU Humanitarian. Additionally, the success of WFP's forecast-based cash assistance to 6,000 households in Teknaf, Cox’s Bazar, was highlighted.

With generous EU humanitarian funding to its forecast-based financing initiative over the past two years, WFP has provided timely and crucial support to families in Teknaf, aiding in their preparation for imminent floods and expediting recovery efforts post-disaster. This initiative has positively contributed to the Government's disaster risk management endeavours, according to a WFP media release on Sunday.

“This project holds significant importance as it served as a testing ground for technical solutions essential for enhancing the implementation of shock-responsive social protection in Bangladesh. We are eager to continue supporting the Government of Bangladesh, particularly through MoDMR, in this area for the long term,” remarked Anna Orlandini, Head of Office, EU Humanitarian in Bangladesh.

The workshop underscored the importance of ongoing capacity-building in technical areas such as multi-hazard forecasting and early warning systems, alongside collaboration between national and international organizations to mitigate the impacts of natural disasters through proactive measures.

The meeting, chaired by K M Abdul Wadud, Additional Secretary at MoDMR, saw the participation of Md. Mijanur Rahman, Director General at the Department of Disaster Management (DDM), was the Chief Guest, and Lutfun Nahar, Joint Secretary at MoDMR, was a special guest.