Dhaka: A high-level meeting was held today at the UN House in the city between the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UN OCHA) and the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) to explore structured private sector engagement in humanitarian preparedness and response in Bangladesh.
According to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, the meeting was attended by Lisa Doughten, Director of the Financing and Outreach Division of UN OCHA, along with senior officials from OCHA headquarters in Geneva and its regional office for Asia and the Pacific. The FBCCI delegation included senior business leaders, former directors, representatives of major industry groups, and officials from the FBCCI Safety Council.
Discussions focused on strengthening collaboration to mobilize private sector resources in support of humanitarian response mechanisms, particularly in disaster preparedness, emergency coordination, and recovery efforts. Both sides noted that Bangladesh and Myanmar remain priority countries for OCHA’s humanitarian engagement in Asia.
The meeting highlighted OCHA’s global coordination mechanisms, including the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF), Country-Based Pooled Funds, and Humanitarian Response Plans (HRPs), which ensure timely and needs-based humanitarian assistance. FBCCI’s recent inclusion as the 22nd member of the Connecting Business Initiative (CBI) – a joint platform of OCHA and UNDP – was also underscored as a key milestone in advancing structured private sector participation in crisis response.
Participants reviewed ongoing private sector contributions in Bangladesh’s emergency response and resilience-building efforts, emphasizing the need to better align business capabilities with national disaster management systems. Logistics, supply chains, financing, and technology were identified as key areas where the private sector can significantly enhance response efficiency.
The discussions further explored potential areas of cooperation, including joint capacity-building programmes on humanitarian coordination systems, development of a pilot private sector emergency coordination model, and integration of FBCCI Safety Council into national and international coordination frameworks such as cluster systems and inter-agency mechanisms.
Both parties also stressed the importance of gender-responsive and inclusive approaches, particularly in supporting women-led enterprises, dignity needs, and MSME resilience during crises. The meeting also considered establishing a dedicated private sector humanitarian coordination platform under the FBCCI Safety Council to strengthen planning, coordination, and rapid response capacities.
The session concluded with a shared commitment to develop a scalable and inclusive model of public-private partnership in humanitarian action, with potential application beyond Bangladesh. Participants expressed optimism that enhanced collaboration between FBCCI and UN OCHA would contribute to more effective, coordinated, and resilient humanitarian response systems in the country and beyond.