Bangladesh’s Comprehensive Approach to Disaster Management: World resources report case study

Bangladesh is one of the most disaster-prone
nations in the world. It is estimated that about 10
million Bangladeshi citizens are impacted by one or
more natural hazards annually (Ernst, et al., 2007,
1). In the past, the Government of Bangladesh
(GoB) had a traditional reactive approach to
addressing natural disasters that focused on relief
and rehabilitation activities. This began to change in
the 1990s, when the need for a more proactive
approach that included “hazard identification and
mitigation, community preparedness and integrated
response efforts” became apparent (GoB National,
2008, 13). The Comprehensive Disaster
Management Programme (CDMP) is a product of
this change in approach. It has two goals: to
facilitate a paradigm shift in disaster management in
Bangladesh away from relief and rehabilitation
towards risk reduction, and to foster a holistic,
multi-hazard approach to reducing the nation’s risks
and vulnerabilities to human-induced and natural
hazards (Project Document, n.d., 10). The
Programme was designed to have two phases, the
first to create the necessary systems and the second
to put them into operation. Phase I was completed
in 2009 and will be the primary focus of this case
study.