Assalamualaikum guys!

I'm sure most of us are aware of the current situation regarding the COVID-19 pandemic. Countries like Bangladesh are predicted to be especially vulnerable to economical collapse and whilst we are blessed to have the NHS in the UK as our immediate aide during illness countries such as Bangladesh don't have the same luxury. 

Bangladesh currently has one doctor per 2000 persons- one of the world's lowest rates of formal medical care. To add to this there are ~8 hospital beds for every 10,000 people, which is worsened by the fact that the country ONLY has 432 ICU beds across the board. Consider this against a population of 170 million inhabitants. It is a sobering realisation that the country is overburdened as is and that the curve is very skewed and far from flattened. 

It is, therefore, our humanitarian duty to help the population in these difficult times.

Only 15% of Bangladeshi workers earn more than £5 a day, so, how can a typical worker subsist a family when they rely on the day's profits to maintain themselves? To add to this, over a million garment workers have been sent home recently in response to the pandemic.

This is a humanitarian crisis with a public health dimension. If large-scale physical distancing is required we must find ways to mitigate the economic shock and to prevent food insecurity to a country that relies (87%) on the informal sector, in the coming weeks. If residents must absolutely stay at home it means they will have to skip meals, and here is where the aim of this appeal comes in, InshAllah. 

I am raising money with the intent of providing emergency aid to Bangladesh through the CAP Foundation.