The world is together in Geneva for the Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction (GPDRR 2025) in the first week of June. Global leaders, policymakers, civil society actors, and humanitarian organizations gather not just to talk policy, but to reflect on one of the most urgent human challenges of our time -- how we can protect lives and livelihoods in a world increasingly shaped by disasters.
This year’s theme -- “Every day counts, act for resilience today” -- could not be more relevant for Bangladesh, a country that is witnessing an increasing frequency of disasters and stands at the frontlines of the climate crisis.
The silent resilience amid funding gaps
Here, disaster risk is not a theory -- it’s a lived experience. In 2024 alone, five major disasters struck, impacting more than 18 million people across 29 districts. Each storm, each flood, each tidal surge leaves behind stories not just of loss, but of survival, courage, and determination.
And yet, even as our people face the elements with unmatched resilience, the numbers tell a harsher tale: Funding gaps in disaster response range from 39% to 87%. Communities are braving the storm with far less than what they need.
But there is hope -- and it often begins from the ground up.
Organizations like Caritas Bangladesh, deeply embedded in local communities, have been transforming disaster response into long-term resilience. Caritas doesn’t just respond to disasters -- it helps people rebuild stronger. Over the last 54 years, they’ve trained over 14,000 volunteers, built hundreds of thousands of homes and community structures, introduced digital platforms for early warning systems, and supported disaster-prone communities in accessing public DRR funds.
The people behind the numbers
At GPDRR 2025, like many others, Caritas will share these experiences on the global stage, through a statement drawn from their work on disaster risk financing, localization, and inclusive community preparedness. Numbers and strategies only tell part of the story. Behind them are people -- people like Nurbanu. She is a 53-year-old widow living in a flood-prone slum in Khulna, displaced by Cyclone Aila in 2009. Once a proud resident of a lush riverside village in Koyra, she now earns Tk40 a day working in a rice mill, just to feed her children. Her life is defined by sacrifice, yet guided by hope -- especially for her son, who is studying business and dreams of lifting the family from poverty.
Nurbanu’s struggle is not rare. She represents the silent strength of hundreds of thousands of climate-induced migrants across Bangladesh -- people forced from their homes not by choice, but by cyclones, river erosion, and the slow violence of rising seas. They arrive in cities like Khulna, Dhaka, and Chittagong, with no legal recognition, very limited access to social protection, and often, no one to speak for them.
Why the platform matters for Bangladesh
The event provides a critical platform for countries like ours to bring human stories into global policy conversations. Alongside Caritas, other organizations such as Plan, Friendship, CBM, and many more will amplify the voices of vulnerable communities. A joint civil society position paper, developed under the leadership of the Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief (MoDMR), will emphasize pressing needs: Inclusive disaster management, flexible and localized financing, recognition of climate-induced displacement, investment in early warning systems, and engagement of the private sector in resilience-building.
Yes, the government of Bangladesh has taken important steps, allocating nearly 10% of its annual budget to DRR-related sectors. But without sustained international cooperation and a global commitment to just and equitable risk reduction, stories like Nurbanu will continue to be written in silence.
We must recognize that resilience is not just built with technology or funds -- it is built with empathy, equity, and inclusion. NGOs and faith-based organizations are doing more than delivering aid; they are restoring dignity and inspiring long-term change.
This global platform must not be a place for generic commitments -- it must be a space where real stories shape real solutions. Let it be a turning point for Bangladesh to share its vision, highlight its innovation, and demand the partnerships needed to protect its people.
Because behind every climate statistic is a name. A family. A mother. A child.
And behind every resilient community is someone like Nurbanu -- holding onto hope, and quietly carrying the future forward.
Inmanuel Chayan Biswas is a Program Officer, Disaster Management (DM), Caritas Bangladesh.
