Partners: BRAC JP Grant School of Public Health, Bangladesh [opens new tab] and Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine UK,
Migration has long been a significant global issue with health impacts. Internal displacement caused by climate change – such as frequent and prolonged flooding, river erosion, and water salinity and extreme weather events like storms, heavy rain, and extreme temperatures – is becoming a pressing public health concern in Bangladesh. Most internally-displaced climate migrants move to cities in search of a better life but often end up taking shelter in informal settlements – neglected areas and communities that already face vulnerabilities.
There is a notable knowledge gap regarding how climate migrants cope in informal settlements and their strategies for adaptation and resilience. This communication project aims to fill this gap by providing evidence on the coping, adaptation and resilience strategies of climate migrants residing in informal settlements in two cities in Bangladesh by applying a gender and intersectionality lens. This project will produce health communication materials and advocacy tools to support communities and materials to inform policy and practice.
This project aims to fill a gap in understanding how migration, climate change, and informal urban spaces impact the health and well-being of marginalised communities. The findings will inform policymakers and health system actors on improving health system resilience and developing equitable responses to health risks of climate-affected communities in informal urban settlements.
The project will conduct secondary analysis of qualitative and quantitative data collected by the ARISE project [opens new tab] from two informal urban settlements in two cities in Bangladesh; Dhaka (the capital city and popular destination of the majority of climate migrants) and Khulna (the country’s third-largest city located in the coastal belt and one of the most vulnerable areas to climate change). Secondary data analysis will include data from ten case studies and a household survey with 816 households. It aims to understand these communities’ experiences, adaptability, and resilience and explore gender vulnerabilities, healthcare access, and the well-being of climate migrants and climate-affected communities. Using the ReBUILD for Resilience framework, the research will analyse communities’ capacities to cope with various climatic and non-climatic stressors while focusing on gender-specific health vulnerabilities.
Communication and advocacy tools and materials (such as short films, infographic fact sheets and posters, policy briefs, etc.) will be co-developed through participatory co-creation activities using art-based interactive methods (eg Climate Justice Tree and Adaptation Pathways) with informal settlement residents and multisectoral stakeholders.
This study is expected to run until January 2026
Image: Waste management issues in Khulna, Bangladesh. Courtesy of ARISE project [opens new tab]