Bangladeshs comprehensive approach to disaster management
Bangladesh is one of the most disaster-prone nations in the world. Every year, about 10 million Bangladeshi citizens are impacted by one or more natural hazards. In the past, the government of Bangladesh had a traditional reactive approach to addressing natural disasters that focused on relief and rehabilitation activities. This changed in the 1990s with recognition of the need for a more proactive approach that included “hazard identification and mitigation, community preparedness and integrated response efforts.” The result was the government’s Comprehensive Disaster Management Programme, which aims to move disaster management away from relief and rehabilitation and towards risk reduction.