The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the Bangladesh Red Crescent Society (BDRCS), Wednesday (9 September) have launched a one-month cash grant distribution and a vaccine registration programme across the three districts of Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) to support those affected by the most recent wave of COVID-19, said a press release.
The objective of the cash distribution is to cover the needs of vulnerable households for a period of one month. A total of 1,465 families across 18 communities will benefit from this one-time cash grant support programme. Md. Belal Hossain, Director of the department of the Community Development of BDRCS says, “We are trying to reach out to most vulnerable persons with emergency support in Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) with cash grants to meet immediate needs for subsistence and to keep them safe from COVID-19.
Furthermore, from 11 September 2021 onwards, for the period of one month, the ICRC, with the support of the BDRCS Units in Rangamati, Khagrachari and Bandarban, and a team of BDRCS volunteers, will assist communities to register for the government’s COVID-19 vaccination programme.
Imam Zafar Sikder, Director of Youth & Volunteer, and Disaster Response Department of BDRCS says, “The lockdown has impacted nearly everyone, but its impacts are particularly acute for people in poverty and daily wage earners. So, after the lockdown, BDRCS is supporting households whose livelihoods have been disrupted by the pandemic. We are replicating similar response in many parts of the country. Besides this, we are distributing food, masks, providing free ambulance service and oxygen support to people.”
On a pilot basis, the ICRC and the BDRCS will select three communities from each district to trial the process, before seeking to scale this activity in the coming months in consultation with the health authorities. On the registration day, BDRCS volunteers will register individuals on the government’s vaccination registration website, ‘Surokkha’, and provide a print out of the registration card.
The vaccine registration is voluntary and entirely free for the communities to avail.
Lauren Grace Armstrong, ICRC Team Leader explains: ‘The ICRC and BDRCS have been conducting joint activities in CHT since 2014 and, on this occasion, we are pleased to supplement our usual activities and existing COVID-19 response activities with some further valuable initiatives. This response follows an in-depth analysis of the situation in CHT during this latest wave of the pandemic, in consultation with the local administration, health authorities, communities and BDRCS Units and volunteers. What’s more, these initiatives are part of a broader set of activities related to the pandemic’.
