Sida's work in Bangladesh
Development cooperation in Bangladesh aims to strengthen democratic development, promote greater respect for human rights and freedoms, and empower girls and women. Aid is intended to accelerate the green transition, which contributes to sustainable growth, climate adaptation and the protection of biodiversity.
Important thematic areas in Bangladesh
Why do Sida work in Bangladesh?
Inequality despite economic growth
Bangladesh has experienced strong economic development since gaining independence in 1971, but poverty and inequality still limit opportunities for many people. Bangladesh is on the verge of leaving the category of the world’s least developed countries. This places greater demands on social and environmental sustainability if the country is to retain favourable trade conditions with the EU.
Challenges to democratic governance
Bangladesh faces challenges in terms of democracy and human rights, although there are signs of positive developments since the student uprisings of 2024, with a democratically elected government committed to reform. The rule of law remains weak, corruption is widespread and disinformation is fuelling polarisation.
Severely affected by climate change
The geographical location, high population density and widespread poverty makes the country particularly vulnerable to climate change. Natural disasters and rising sea levels threaten people’s livelihoods and have a particularly severe impact on those living in poverty, women and children. A lack of clean water, poor air quality and environmental degradation hinder sustainable development.
The green transition is vital for reducing climate impact, protecting ecosystems and preserving biodiversity. Bangladesh also needs to reduce its energy consumption and develop innovative, sustainable sulutions.
Examples of what Sida has contributed to
Greater resilience to climate change and crises
Development aid empowers the most vulnerable people to better cope with climate change and recover from crises. By strengthening local authorities, funding climate adaptation and developing healthcare preparedness, development aid has increased households’ resilience and reduced their vulnerability to climate change in particularly vulnerable districts.
Strengthened media freedom and democratic resilience
Development aid strengthens free and independent media through training in investigative journalism and partnerships with media organisations. This support helps to develop the media sector in terms of quality, gender equality, digitalisation and increased reporting on sustainability in the news media, as well as democratic reforms and investments in technical skills and capacity building.
Greater access to SRHR strengthens the freedom and rights of women and girls
Swedish support has helped to establish the midwifery profession and midwifery training in Bangladesh, which has contributed to a reduction in infant and maternal mortality. The support also helps to maintain access to safe abortion and contraception, which is particularly important when state services have been scaled back.
Sida's work in Bangladesh
Sida supports civil society organisations, the UN and other partners working to promote democracy, human rights, the principles of the rule of law, and freedom and empowerment for women and girls. It also supports an accelerated green transition through sustainable growth, enhanced climate adaptation and the protection of ecosystems and biodiversity. Humanitarian aid works in tandem with long-term development cooperation.
Sweden also collaborates with the business sector and other stakeholders to promote sustainable investment and mobilise private capital for the green transition.
Sida supports civil society organisations and, for example, through the UN, works to combat corruption, strengthen respect for human rights, promote democratic development and combat violence against women. Here are some examples of programmes and projects supported by Sida:
Corruption permeates society, severely affecting people living in poverty. Corruption is also used to weaken the political opposition. Through support to Transparency International Bangladesh and the media institute Fojo as well as the local institute MRDI, Sida promotes efforts to independently scrutinise authorities at national and local level.
The situation for many women and girls in Bangladesh remains difficult. The organisations Ain o Salish Kendra, Bangladesh Mahila Parishad (BMP) and Manusher Jonno Foundation are working to strengthen respect for women’s and children’s rights and prevent violence against women.
Effective advocacy with the country’s Ministry of Justice has led to the revision of a criticised law that evaluates the morality and character of the complainant in cases of rape. Similarly, lobbying of the Ministry of Education has led to the establishment of a special committee for work against sexual harassment in higher education institutions and the inclusion of sex education in the secondary school curriculum.
Sida supports civil society and UN organisations that strengthen health services to give people living in vulnerability and poverty access to care, as well as train midwives and increase people’s access to SRHR.
Here are some examples of programmes and projects that Sida supports:
Infant mortality remains high in Bangladesh. As is maternal mortality. Sweden was the first to establish the midwifery profession in Bangladesh, and together with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and Swedish universities (University of Gothenburg and Dalarna University), a quality midwifery programme has been established in Bangladesh.
The programme improves maternal and child health care, enabling more women to give birth safely and raising the status of the midwifery profession. RHSTEP provides safe abortion and family planning for all.
Sida supports projects aimed at sustainable growth that will benefit everyone. This aid enhances women’s opportunities to find work and helps workers in the textile and agricultural sectors to organise themselves and improve their working conditions.
Here are some examples of programmes and projects supported by Sida:
Working conditions in the textile industry remain difficult. Sida supports Advancing Decent Work Bangladesh, which is implemented by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) in cooperation with the country’s Ministry of Labour, employers’ organisations and trade unions. The aim is to support reforms to improve labour market conditions and empower workers in the textile industry to organise themselves into unions and influence their conditions.
Women are underrepresented in the labour market, and for those who do work, the working environment is often poor. Sida’s support to the project Strengthening Women’s Ability for Productive New Opportunities (Swapno II) has helped to mitigate the negative impact of the pandemic on women’s ability to work and created employment for vulnerable women in the formal sector and self-employment.
About the work to empower women in the labour market on the Swapno website
Sida supports organisations in civil society and through the UN that contribute to reducing the effects of climate change. It helps to strengthen the capacity of communities and central and local authorities to finance and implement climate adaptation, so that people and communities can better manage and recover from crises.
Here are some examples of programmes and projects that Sida supports:
Sida facilitates funding and capacity for climate adaptation at a local level. The Local Government Initiative on Climate Change (LoGIC) programme works on climate adaptation based on local democratic governance, gender equality and inclusion.
The programme integrates climate change adaptation into local government planning and budgeting, raises awareness of climate change among the population and builds capacity for local governments to make decisions that take climate change into account.
The high rate of urbanisation has led to increased poverty and environmental degradation in cities. People living in slums, where access to water and sanitation is poor, are particularly vulnerable. Sida contributes through the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and WaterAid to increase people’s access to safe drinking water and sanitation.
Sida is addressing weaknesses in the country’s ability to protect the environment, improve ecosystem vitality and mitigate climate change. Support to the Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers’ Association (BELA) strengthens environmental law in Bangladesh through advocacy and training.
BELA’s focus on Public Interest Environmental Litigation (PIEL), whereby the law is used to promote human rights and gender equality, gives environmentalists and local communities a solid legal basis to sue individuals, companies and even government agencies that violate the law.
Millions of people in Bangladesh are in need of humanitarian assistance. This includes support for the Rohingya community, of whom 1,2 million live in the world’s largest refugee camp, Cox’s Bazar. It also includes support due to recurrent floods and cyclones. Over the past year, access to food has been severely reduced in many parts of the country. Sida’s humanitarian assistance provides people with access to food, emergency shelter, clean water and psychosocial support.
Sida works with international humanitarian and civil society organisations and prioritises the people most in need of support.
Sida’s humanitarian support in Bangladesh saves lives and alleviates suffering.
In the humanitarian crisis analysis, you can read about the crisis and see which partner organisations are working there in 2026.
Sida supports programmes that maintain essential public services, alleviate humanitarian needs and strengthen community resilience.
Here are some examples of such programmes:
Safe Access to Fuel and Energy (SAFE+) is a joint UN programme (with UNHCR, IOM, FAO and WFP) that provides cleaner cooking fuel to combat deforestation and rehabilitate degraded environments in Cox’s Bazar.
The programme has helped reduce greenhouse emissions by replacing firewood with LPG. The risk of sexual and gender-based violence and environmental degradation has been reduced.
The programme has also reforested and rehabilitated thousands of hectares of degraded forest land in the host community and camps. With Bangladeshi farmers selling their produce to the Rohingya, tensions between them are also reduced.
In and outside the refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar, UN Women has established women’s centres to work on gender equality and women’s livelihoods. The centres have both generated income for individual women and contributed to increased self-esteem and strengthened female leadership. Sida has supported the design and implementation of the programme since 2019.
Updated: October 14, 2026