Bangladesh

MAF in Bangladesh

Bangladesh is one of the world’s poorest, most densely populated and least developed nations. Development is severely hindered by its geography and climate – tropical, with a mild winter, a hot and humid summer followed by a monsoon season when natural hazards pose a serious threat. Severe flooding from the annual monsoon as well as droughts and cyclones are common.

One third of the population lives below the poverty line, but the countless rivers and the huge Ganges Delta make travelling to receive vital help virtually impossible. Water-borne diseases are common, yet medical care and support is limited due to the inaccessibility of many communities.

With one third of the total area covered in water and few airstrips, a special type of aircraft is needed. MAF has been flying an amphibious aircraft in Bangladesh since 1997
With this amphibious aircraft, stretches of water no longer pose a barrier for communities in need of help. Landing at over 200 water sites, we reach the least accessible areas, bringing life-changing and life-saving support and hope.

Our main focus is on providing a service to remote areas where development needs are greatest, with most flights for the government, aid and development organisations and also for medical emergencies.

Following the devastation caused by cyclone Sidr in November 2007, our aircraft was the first civilian aircraft to help. The team was inundated with requests for flights.

The amphibious Cessna Grand Caravan is the only aircraft in the fleet. There are 3 international staff members in the country: Chad Tilley (pilot); the programme manager Stephen Charlesworth and his wife Sue live in Australia and short term relief pilot, Rune Karlsson based in Sweden. There are 15 national staff.

Types of flying done by MAF in Bangladesh:

Medical emergency flights
Government ministers
Churches
Doctors and medical/eye teams
Commercial
Development work
Floating hospitals
Economic development projects (flying shrimps)
Disaster and relief flying


Organisations served by MAF:

Ambulance/Medevacs
Chandraghana Christian Hospital
Chevron Bangladesh Ltd
Church of the Nazarene Int
Cotton Group
Duncan Brothers (Pvt.) Ltd
Faith Bible Church
Free Christian Church
Friendship (floating hospital)
HEED Bangladesh
ICDDR’B Cholera hospital
Impact Foundation (floating hospital)
Interlife Bangladesh
Lamb Hospital
Ministries/government/parliament members
MP Hazif Ibrahim
NIKO Resources
Radio Maya
Royal Danish Embassy
Royal Netherlands Embassy
SIMED
SLOP Bangladesh
Swedish Embassy
Talitha Kumi Church
UNDP (United Nations Development Programme)
UNICEF
UNILEVER
WOD Trust
WHO (World Health Organisation) 

Demographics

Bangladesh has the 38th lowest Human Development Index rating in the world

• Population:  153,546,901 (July 2008 est.) 150 million increasing by 2% every year (UK: 61 million)
• Birth rate: 29 births/1,000 population (UK: 11 births/1,000)
• Life expectancy at birth: 63 years (UK: 79 years)
• Population under 15 years: 33% (UK: 17%)
• High infant mortality: more than 1 in 17 die at birth (UK: 1 in 200 die at birth)
• Population below the poverty line: 45%
• HIV/AIDS adult prevalence rate: less than 0.1% of population (UK: 0.2%)
• Literacy rate: 43% (UK: 99%)

Infrastructure

Overland travel can be treacherous and time-consuming in this flat, low-lying country with a prominent river delta system frequently affected by flooding

• Area of the country: 55,598 sq miles (UK: 94,525 sq miles)
• 148,652 miles of roads, but only 14,122 miles of paved roads (UK: 241,104 miles – all paved)
• Only 12 landing strips but many water landing sites.

Economy

Despite sustained efforts to improve economic prospects, Bangladesh remains a poor, overpopulated nation. Annual monsoon flooding hampers economic development

• 63% of the population employed in agriculture, fishing and forestry
• Main exports include garments, jute and jute goods, leather, frozen fish and seafood

Environment

Bangladesh has flat, low-lying terrain, located on the alluvial plain with large river deltas flowing from the Himalayas into the Bay of Bengal. This poses serious threats to the country’s large population:

• extreme overpopulation with many people are landless and forced to live on and cultivate flood-prone land
• water-borne diseases prevalent in surface water often caused by water pollution especially of fishing areas from the use of commercial pesticides
• ground water contaminated by naturally occurring arsenic
• intermittent water shortages because of falling water tables in the northern and central parts of the country
• soil degradation through damage to the land’s productive capacity because of poor agricultural practices and erosion

Climate

A country with a tropical climate; a mild winter, a hot and humid summer and a warm, humid monsoon season when natural hazards pose a serious threat

• severe flooding from annual monsoon
• droughts
• cyclones

Religion

Islam is the state religion. Officially there is religious freedom, although this is being eroded by Islamist pressure and an uncompromising legal system.

• Muslim: 83%
• Hindu: 16%
• other 1%