Impact of the emergency response cash assistance project in wake of covid-19, cyclone amphan and monsoon flood in 2020

The COVID-19 pandemic lockdown combined with Cyclone Amphan and the severe monsoon flooding of 2020 destroyed the livelihoods of thousands of families and individuals. Many were forced to live in terrible conditions without food, income, and shelter. In response, UN Women launched a cash assistance project delivering cash grant support and COVID-19 prevention awareness campaigns to Bangladesh’s most vulnerable households. This included women-headed families, persons with disabilities, the elderly, sex workers and transgender persons. UN Women’s post-distribution monitoring verifies that the cash assistance did reduce the impact that the triple crisis of flooding, COVID-19 and cyclone brought to approximately 2322 acutely vulnerable residents in the five most affected districts in Bangladesh. The cash injection immediately relieved the mounting pressure, both in terms of easing gender-based violence (GBV) cases and enabling households to meet simple daily sustenance needs.