Sida's work in Bangladesh
Poverty in Bangladesh has steadily declined since the 1990s but remains widespread. The country is in a phase of political transition and is currently governed by an interim government. Bangladesh is highly vulnerable to climate change and natural disasters. Sida focuses on democracy, human rights, gender equality, inclusive economic development, health, climate and environment. Sida also provides humanitarian support in Bangladesh.
Why do Sida work in Bangladesh?
Inequality despite economic growth
Bangladesh has historically enjoyed strong economic growth with improved infrastructure, such as access to electricity, water and sanitation. At the same time, inequality is increasing in rapidly growing cities. Climate change is exacerbating poverty, especially for those living in rural areas. Women and children remain particularly vulnerable. For years, citizens’ power and empowerment have been declining. Minorities and other marginalised groups are particularly vulnerable.
Challenges to democratic governance
Political and civil rights are under severe pressure in Bangladesh, where freedom of expression and the press, as well as the ability of civil society to operate freely, have long been restricted. The country is in a phase of political transition, which can present both opportunities for greater democracy and challenges to democratic governance.
An interim government is in place until parliamentary elections can be held. Violence against women, lack of rule of law and gender discrimination are common. Despite legislation against child marriage, Bangladesh has one of the highest rates of child marriage in the world. Nine out of ten children are victims of domestic or school violence.
Hard hit by climate change
Despite low CO2 emissions (0.27%), Bangladesh is extremely vulnerable to natural disasters resulting from climate change, which has led to millions of people being forced to flee within the country and economic losses. People living in poverty, women and children are particularly affected.
Like many countries that prioritise economic growth over sustainability, Bangladesh faces major environmental problems, poor air quality and water scarcity. More than half the population lacks clean drinking water, and groundwater levels are declining. Saltwater intrusion threatens agriculture and public health in coastal areas.
Examples of what Sida has contributed to
A fair and green transition
Sida is helping to improve Bangladesh’s chances of achieving international standards for social and environmental sustainability. Sida has helped to develop a plan to improve labour conditions, which is important for the country to qualify for new trade agreements, including with the EU, helping to ensure that the millions of people employed by the textile industry continue to have the opportunity to work and earn an income.
Accountability, increased transparency and reduced corruption
Media and press freedom are important for democracy. The assistance contributes to continued media development to increase quality, gender equality, digitalisation and increased reporting on sustainability in the news media. This is done, among other things, through training for journalists on investigative journalism and cooperation with media organisations.
Climate adaptation and improved health
Sida’s Development Cooperation strengthens communities and authorities and health systems to be prepared for and adapt to climate change. Sida also helps to increase understanding of the effects of climate change and people’s right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment.
Sida's work in Bangladesh
Sida supports organisations in civil society and through the UN that work for democratic development, strengthened respect for human rights, increased gender equality, economic development that benefits all people, health, climate and the environment. We also provides humanitarian support in Bangladesh that interacts closely with the long-term work.
Sida also cooperates with other actors within Team Sweden and explores opportunities to cooperate with the business community, both Swedish and Bangladeshi. We are also investigating how innovative forms of financing can increase access to green financing in the textile sector, mobilise private capital and support companies’ work on sustainability.
Sida supports organisations in civil society and through, for example, the UN, that work to combat corruption, strengthen respect for human rights, promote democratic development and combat violence against women.
Here are some examples of programmes and projects that Sida supports:
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:
Together with the World Health Organisation (WHO), Sida is working to strengthen health care, increase mental health, reduce antibiotic resistance and give the population access to good and equal care. Sida also supports the Bangladesh Health Watch initiative, which works to reduce corruption in the health sector and strengthen the voices of residents, especially women, to improve health care.
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 for sustainable economic development that will benefit all people. We strengthens women’s ability to work and helps workers in the textile industry and agriculture to organise themselves and improve their working conditions.
Here are some examples of programmes and projects that Sida supports:
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 almost one million live in the world’s largest refugee camp, Cox’s Bazar, as well as 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.
- UNHCR’s website
- World Food Programme’s website
- Islamic Relief’s website
- Action Against Hunger AAH’s website
- Norwegian Refugee Council NRC’s website
- Save the Children’s website
- International Rescue Committee IRC’s website
- Start Fund Bangladesh’s website
Learn more about Sida’s analysis of the humanitarian crisis, Sida’s support and how much money is distributed to each organisation in Sida’s crisis analysis.
The ongoing Bangladesh Development Strategy 2021-2025 integrates Rohingya refugees and host communities in Cox’s Bazar. The work centres on these focus areas: democracy, gender equality and human rights; health and SRHR; employment and economic development; and climate and environment.
Here are some examples of programmes that Sida supports with development funds:
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: July 7, 2025