Extreme weather events (EWEs)-Related health complications in Bangladesh: A gender-based analysis on the 2017 catastrophic floods

Abstract

Floods are major Extreme Weather Events (EWEs) that are more frequent and intense. Floods has multifarious dire impacts on human health, but health implications of floods are limitedly examined from a gender lens, particularly in developing countries like Bangladesh. Floods periodically hit in Bangladesh. The 2017 was a catastrophic year for Bangladesh. The year experienced two consecutive floods that were more catastrophic in the last couple of decades and direly affected 24 districts of the country. The floods resulted in health stress and intensifying exposure to manifold health vulnerabilities. Our study aimed to investigate gendered health complications caused by the floods and the impacts of the confluence of the floods and vulnerabilities relating to water, sanitation, health care facilities on reproductive health. To achieve this, we conducted 280 household surveys, 4 Focus Group Discussions, 4 In-Depth Interviews, and 6 Key Informant Interviews within the framework of mixed-method research in a northern flood-prone district named Jamalpur. Our findings showed that 84.6% of the respondents stated water gets polluted during floods, and 69.6% identified polluted water as a major challenge while collecting water during floods. Due to living with polluted floodwater, fever (66.4%) and diarrheal diseases (55.4%) were most common among women. In respect to reproductive health, 75% of the females reported improper menstrual management causing mental shocks and vaginal infections; over 66.4% females noted remaining without any measures. To mitigate health vulnerability, majority of the rural women (78.6%) encountered challenges – including the dearth of available medicine and poor transportation and communication. Health vulnerability also increased when poor communities failed to afford the cost of medicine because of poor economic condition and food insecurity. Consequently, our study recommends for fostering health education and the immediate deployment of health care facilities on an emergency basis to reduce health complications, especially among marginal groups (e.g., women and children). Future research can explore how the intersection of economic insecurity and flood whet differential health complications among poor and non-poor.