Noakhali Correspondent: The activities of the Gender in Humanitarian Action (GiHA) project have been inaugurated in the disaster-prone coastal district of Noakhali under a gender-sensitive disaster risk reduction initiative.

On Monday (22 December) at 10:00 a.m., the project’s activities in Noakhali were formally inaugurated at the conference room of the Noakhali District Commissioner’s Office, with District Commissioner Muhammad Shafikul Islam presiding over the event.

At the inaugural session, a welcome address was delivered by BRAC District Coordinator Md. Nuruzzaman. Through a projector presentation, Marzina Khatun, Gender and Inclusion Specialist of the Gender in Humanitarian Action (GiHA) project, briefed participants on the project’s activities.

Project officials stated that the initiative is being implemented in 12 coastal districts of the country, including Noakhali. The Noakhali chapter of the project has been launched with the objective of identifying the distinct needs and challenges of women, men, girls, boys, persons with disabilities, and people of diverse gender identities particularly in remote coastal areas and isolated char (river island) regions before, during, and after disasters, and of formulating and implementing humanitarian action plans accordingly.

In his speech, District Commissioner Muhammad Shafikul Islam said that Noakhali is one of the country’s disaster-prone coastal districts, where various disasters occur for most of the year. Although the authorities inform local residents during disasters, it is the local people who play the most significant role, as they directly face and respond to disasters. He noted that disasters cannot be prevented, but proper preparedness can significantly reduce losses. Past data show that 90 percent of disaster-related deaths are women and children.

Therefore, he expressed the view that this project would play an important role in ensuring their protection during disasters.

Among those present were Noakhali District Civil Surgeon Dr. Mariyam Simi; Additional District Commissioner (General) Shantanu Kumar Das; Deputy Director of the Department of Social Services, Safayet Hossain Talukdar; Assistant Professor of Noakhali Science and Technology University, Md. Abdul Kader; Deputy Director of the Department of Women’s Affairs, Kamrun Nahar; as well as leaders of various social organizations, representatives of women’s organizations, and representatives of different non-governmental development organizations in the district.