Local emergency aid

SIR – My organisation, Caritas Bangladesh, was one of the first to respond to the threat of Cyclone Mora this week (report, May 31). In Cox’s Bazar, we helped evacuate more than 600,000 people living in vulnerable areas, saving countless lives when the storm surge swept in.

Investment in disaster risk management in Bangladesh is paying off. In 1991, Cyclone Gorky killed 140,000 people; such a catastrophe is now avoidable. Caritas Bangladesh can call on hundreds of local volunteers, students and community groups.

Yet just 2.4 per cent of reported humanitarian aid worldwide is given directly to local or national organisations. We and our sister agency in England and Wales, Cafod, want to change the system so that more funding goes directly to local organisations that respond most effectively in emergencies. Francis Atul Sarker

Executive Director, Caritas Bangladesh c/o Cafod, London SE1