Location: Kamalnagar Upazila, Lakshmipur District, Bangladesh
Date: June 26, 2025
Organization: ALO (Animation Liberate for Organize)
Report By: Kazi Altaf Mahmood
Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bq2VtFQzzbk
Executive Summary
Nur Azad Ali’s family embodies the harsh fallout from coastal flooding in Bangladesh’s southeast, where a single disaster stripped them of shelter and deepened their slide into debt and illness. Stranded in a makeshift shack on borrowed land, this household of six grapples with untreated heart conditions, kidney stones, and a daughter’s disability, all while scraping by on sporadic rickshaw earnings. Their plea for a basic home underscores a broader crisis: over five million Bangladeshis face homelessness, amplified by recurrent floods that displaced nearly 700,000 people yearly in the last decade. In Lakshmipur, the August 2024 floods marooned 600,000 residents, eroding livelihoods and exposing gaps in rural health services where doctor shortages leave chronic ailments unchecked. Nationally, poverty has climbed to 28 percent, fueling displacement that strains urban slums. Government efforts like the Ashrayan housing scheme have resettled over a million, yet implementation lags in flood-prone zones, demanding targeted aid to bridge health and shelter voids. This report draws from direct interviews to spotlight immediate needs while tying them to systemic failures, urging swift resource allocation aligned with SDG 11 for sustainable communities.
Individual and Family Needs
Nur Azad Ali, once a rickshaw driver in Chittagong, now idles in Kamalnagar after floods demolished his home. Debt from medical bills—around 400,000 to 500,000 taka—blocks any rebuild, leaving his wife with recurring kidney stones and himself battling heart problems. Their four children, including a disabled daughter abandoned by her husband, crowd into a nephew’s shack, surviving on irregular donations that barely cover food or treatment.
Key Findings at the Family Level
Health dominates their woes: Ali’s cardiac issues halt work, while his wife’s stones demand surgery they can’t afford, despite partial donor help that failed to cure her. The daughter’s foot disability adds caregiving burdens, stalling her remarriage and stranding a grandchild in poverty. Shelter loss from the Lakshmipur coastal flood erased their property’s value, forcing relocation from rented urban digs back to rural limbo. Daily sustenance teeters on debt cycles, with no steady income to escape the trap.
Regional and National History of the Issue and Need
Bangladesh’s delta geography invites calamity, where monsoons and river swells routinely upend lives. In Lakshmipur, erosion and inundation have long displaced the vulnerable, but recent escalations tie directly to climate shifts.
Regional Context
Lakshmipur’s low-lying terrain, bisected by the Meghna River, saw devastating floods in August 2024, flooding 311,419 hectares and stranding communities in Kamalnagar and beyond. Persistent rainfall—168 millimeters in one day—compounded upstream surges, destroying homes and crops while spiking waterborne diseases. Rural health access here falters amid infrastructure deficits: community clinics lack specialists for chronic ills like heart disease or kidney issues, forcing costly urban trips that poor families skip. Homelessness surges post-disaster, with makeshift shacks offering scant protection, mirroring Ali’s plight in a district where poverty hovers at 30 percent.
National Context
Across Bangladesh, natural disasters displace 700,000 annually, pushing rural poor into urban fringes where slums swell. Poverty spiked to 28 percent by 2025, trapping 4.17 crore in extremes, worsened by floods that hit 11 districts in 2024 alone. Health systems strain under low public spending—high out-of-pocket costs devour 70 percent of expenses—leaving rural areas with one doctor per 5,000 people, far below needs for non-communicable diseases rising exponentially. Displacement from events like the 2024 eastern floods, affecting six million, amplifies homelessness, with five million lacking stable roofs as of recent estimates.
Alignment with National and Global Goals
Bangladesh’s Vision 2041 targets poverty eradication, but flood-driven homelessness clashes with SDG 1 (no poverty) and SDG 3 (good health). The Ashrayan project aligns with SDG 11 by resettling 1.19 million displaced, yet gaps in rural health tie to SDG 10’s inequality reduction. Globally, this echoes the Paris Agreement’s loss and damage focus, where Bangladesh’s 13.3 million projected climate migrants by 2050 demand international aid.
4 Methodology
This assessment stems from a June 2025 field interview in Kamalnagar, capturing Nur Azad Ali’s unfiltered account via audio transcription. Cross-verified with secondary data from World Bank reports, UNDP analyses, and local news, the approach blended qualitative narratives with quantitative stats on floods and poverty. Site observations noted shack conditions, while ethical consent ensured family privacy amid vulnerability.
Needs Assessment Findings
Floods shattered stability, exposing health and housing fractures that perpetuate poverty.
Family Needs
A modest tin-roofed house tops priorities, offering security absent since the flood. Medical intervention—heart meds for Ali, stone removal for his wife, mobility aids for the daughter—ranks next, alongside debt relief to restart rickshaw work. Child education and nutrition lag, with the grandchild’s future at stake in this cycle.
Existing Resources and Gaps
Donations sporadically fund partial treatments, but no sustained support exists. Government clinics provide basics, yet specialist shortages and transport barriers widen gaps. Housing schemes like LICHSP target urban low-income, bypassing rural flood victims, while Ashrayan waits lists overflow. NGOs like Habitat offer models, but scale falls short in Lakshmipur.
Resource Requirements
Build a basic 400-square-foot home: 500,000 taka for materials and labor. Fund 300,000 taka in medical care, including surgeries and follow-ups. Clear 400,000 taka debt via microloans, paired with vocational tools like a new rickshaw. Long-term: Integrate into national schemes for disability grants and flood-resistant housing.
Conclusion
Ali’s family teeters on collapse, a microcosm of Bangladesh’s disaster-fueled inequities. Swift aid—a home, health fixes—could restore dignity, but systemic overhauls must follow: bolster rural clinics, expand Ashrayan to coastal edges, and channel global funds to curb displacement. Ignore this, and millions more join the ranks of the uprooted.
References
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