site tools navigation

• Text only
• Font size
• Colours
• Email page
• Print page
• Site map

Bangladesh

Country Director: Mosharraf Hossain
Programme start: 1994
Population: 153m
% living on less than US$1 a day: 41%
Adult life expectancy at birth: 63 years

ADD Bangladesh website

Contact information

One of ADD Bangladesh's successes has been in raising citizens' awareness of disabled people's right to vote.  In the most recent local government elections, 64 disabled people stood as independent candidates and 16 of them were elected - this was the first time ever that disabled people had been elected as representatives of their communities in local government.

On the night of 15 November 2007, cyclone SIDR swept over 16 districts of Bangladesh, devastating 710 Unions, 103 Upozillas, killing over 10,000 (Red Cross). Nearly 5 million people and property are severely affected.  

Bangladesh government aided by the Armed Forces rushed from the very first day to provide food, water and essentials to the stricken people. Consequently the international community, corporate sector and NGOs have also joined in force. Food, water, shelter and medical assistance are urgently needed at the moment to save lives and prevent disabilities of the affected people.

Plight of Disabled People: In such emergency situations, persons with disabilities often face extra challenges. At least 500,000 disabled people are affected in the cyclone area. As disabled people have difficulties in moving and communicating, they are excluded even by their families and communities who are in need of help themselves. Other NGOs are not addressing the disabled people but helping their own members.

In such a situation Action on Disability and Development (ADD) has embarked on a prompt campaign “To Reduce Vulnerability of Persons with Disabilities affected by SIDR” to build their confidence and to assist them to start a new life.

ADD’s Relief and Rehabilitation: ADD is an international organization working with around 100 DPOs since 1994 supporting disabled people to promote rights and inclusion in 29 districts of the country. The main objective of  ADD’s Relief and Rehabilitation programme is to support the persons with disabilities and their families to reduce their vulnerability to the affects of the cyclone SIDR by providing basic humanitarian assistance such as food, essentials, clothes and cash benefits.

With generous donations from its main donors – British organisation-CAFOD, Dutch organization -CORDAID, German organization-NETZ, ADD-staff and others totaling Tk. 2.23 crores as on date, teams of ADD staff supported by DPO members are already in the worst affected areas of  Bagerhat, Pirojpur, Patuakhali and Barguna distributing essential food and non-food items to 6,000 disabled persons.  The relief packets comprise rice, dal, suji, sugar, salt, edible oil, candles, matches, ORS, water purifying tablets, saris, lungis, children’s clothing, blankets etc. Some cash benefits are also being given for the treatment and prevention of disability. ADD’s relief efforts are expected to continue till mid-February 2008. 

Mosharraf Hossain
Country Director
26th November 2007

The Bangladesh National Grassroots Disability Federation was formed in July 2004, as a culmination of 10 years' of work by ADD to help build capacity of disabled people’s organisations.  The Federation speaks for the disability rights movement with a united voice and to raise issues of exclusion and marginalisation at a national level.  Leaders of the Federation now receive additional training so that they can help build the capacity of other disabled people and raise the levels of skills and confidence within the movement.  At present they can scarcely keep up with the demand from neighbouring districts where other disabled people are asking for help to establish their own self-help groups and organisations.

In 2005 the Federation successfully lobbied the Minister of Transport for the reservation of four seats and a 50% fare reduction for disabled people on all public transport.