Dhaka, November 29, 2007—With the emergency “life saving” phase of CARE’s relief efforts in Bangladesh nearing completion, CARE is starting to shift its focus to support that will enable people to return to their villages and rebuild their lives.  “We are now trying to take a longer-term approach.” Says Nick Southern, CARE Bangladesh’s country director. “People are going to need support while they try to put their lives back together. That includes rebuilding their homes and reestablishing a livelihood that enables them to feed their families” In the two weeks since Cyclone Sidr, struck Bangladesh’s coast on November 15, CARE, working with local partner NGOs, has provided emergency food packages and relief materials to 37,000 families, or roughly 185,000 people.  By the time the current phase ends in early December, CARE will have supplied a total of 85,000 families, or 425,000 people. 

Bangladesh authorities estimate the final casualties from the cyclone at more than 3,200 people killed, another 35,000 injured and nearly two million acres of crops destroyed. More than a million homes were damaged. 

Although substantial amounts of food are now moving into the cyclone affected area, distribution has been uneven, with some villages getting sufficient supplies, and others being bypassed.  CARE’s advantage is its long-standing relationship with local NGO partners, Prodipon, South Asia Partnership, Coast Bangladesh and Resource Integration Centre.  The network on the ground along with close relationships with local civil organizations has helped CARE make more accurate assessments of who actually needs aid the most and to be more effective in the way the aid is distributed. 

CARE is continuing to distribute 1,100 tons of wheat provided by USAID’s Shouhardo program to 60,000 families in Barguna and Patharghata, two of the worst hit sub-districts, where the damage from Cyclone Sidr was nearly 100%. 
CARE is also working with the Dhaka Community Hospital to provide 25 mobile medical teams now traveling through stricken villages have provided had consultations with 17,261 patients. More than 6,000 had injuries from the storm.  In addition,  CARE has been providing safe drinking water to thousands of people with then help of four mobile treatment plants that can filter 12,000 liters of fresh water a day, each or a total of 48,000 liters.
The next phase of CARE’s relief operations will concentrate on helping people recover their normal lives.  Negotiations are currently underway with donors to significantly expand CARE’s food distribution to cover a much larger area than its current focus, but CARE is also being asked to provide assistance in rebuilding and strengthening damaged homes. CARE will also incorporate disaster risk reduction during the recovery phase, in line with its “build back better” philosophy.

An important focus will be on refurbishing water supplies.  Many villages depend on ponds to act as mini-reservoirs, but most of these have now been contaminated. Mobile water treatment plants which were crucial in the emergency phase are too expensive to operate over the long term, so CARE is helping villages assess and then clean and refurbish their traditional water sources. 

At the same time, CARE is continuing to distribute conventional supplies. CARE just received a donation 25,000 blankets and 12,500 plastic water containers from Britain’s Department for International Development. People will also need help earning a living while they rebuild their communities. “Livelihoods are an important consideration,” says CARE’s Nick Southern. 

The second phase of CARE’s relief efforts is expected to last through February, but it is now expected that the overall recovery effort will last at least a year.