Analysis।। Bangladesh’s Humanitarian Crisis After August 2024

– Dr. Mamunur Rashid

Since August 2024, political instability, economic crisis, industrial employment decline, public health risks, increasing poverty, and climate disasters have intensified in Bangladesh.

According to information from various sources, the humanitarian damage during this period has reached significant levels in various areas, and its impact has been particularly felt on children, women, workers, and low-income people.

In the education sector, about 33 million children have faced disruptions in their education due to political unrest and climate change. At the same time, the situation of political arrests and detentions has also been serious. More than 5,079 people have been arrested in Dhaka on the basis of 707 cases. At the national level, opposition political parties claim that the number of arrests is more than 400,000, and that about 30,000 people will be in custody by November 2025.

The impact of the crisis on the industrial sector was even more widespread. More than 500 large export-oriented factories in various sectors, including ready-made garments, have closed, with more than 300 expected to close by October 2024. Garment export revenue has fallen by about 12 percent from $42 billion to $37 billion.

In total, about 1.5 million workers have lost their jobs. The Beximco Group as a single organization has laid off about 40,000 workers and closed 80 factories in the leather sector. More than 100 factories or production units in Dhaka’s ceramic industry have been closed or stalled.

This industrial crisis has had a disproportionate impact on women. While women make up about 80 percent of the workforce in the ready-made garment sector, data suggests that they account for about 90 percent of total job losses. As a result, the industrial crisis has also put pressure on women’s employment and family-based economic security.

The measles outbreak is a matter of particular public health concern. As of August 24, 2026, more than 915 suspected or confirmed child deaths, 1,31,946 suspected cases, and 16,531 confirmed cases have been reported. It has spread to all 64 districts of the country and routine vaccination coverage has declined by about 4–5 percent per year.

The situation is also worrying in terms of child safety. In the seven months following the political change, nearly 15,000 general diaries (GDs) related to child abduction have been registered. At the same time, the mental health crisis among university students is also acute. 86.3 percent of students reported serious mental health problems such as anxiety or depression. In addition, 38.05 percent of students have occasionally and 29.56 percent of students have regularly participated in some kind of movement.

Poverty has also increased. According to the latest UN report, more than 60 million people are at risk of poverty.

Finally, climate disasters have deepened these crises. The breakdown of local government systems has broken down the minimum resilience system. In 2024, 18.4 million people were affected by 4 major climate disasters. Of these, cyclones affected about 4.6 million people and displaced about 800,000 people. Floods affected a large number of people, including about 7 million children.

The number of internally displaced people due to disasters is about 2.4 million, and climate change has caused an average annual economic loss of about $3 billion over the past three decades. 71 deaths have also been recorded due to flash floods.

Overall, these data show that the post-September 2024 crisis is not a single sector problem. Political instability, employment loss, poverty, health risks, child safety, mental health, and climate disasters have interconnected and created multidimensional pressures on Bangladesh’s social and economic stability.