REE-CALL stands for Resilience through Economic Empowerment, Climate Adaptation, Leadership and Learning.
It is a major climate resilience and women’s empowerment initiative spearheaded by Oxfam in Bangladesh, implemented alongside 14 partner organizations. Launched in October 2017, the program is specifically designed to support and fortify highly vulnerable communities living in Bangladesh’s frontline environments—namely the char, haor, and coastal regions.
Here is a quick breakdown of its core focus and real-world impact:
-
Demographic Reach: The initiative has directly empowered over 1.2 lakh (120,800+) people—the vast majority of whom are women—and indirectly benefited over 2.8 lakh individuals across 13 districts.
-
Economic Growth: By focusing on economic justice, the program helped increase the average monthly income of its participants from Tk 7,734 to Tk 12,981.
-
Health and Hygiene (WASH): It drove a massive transformation in local living conditions. Access to safe drinking water in targeted households skyrocketed from a mere 13% to 98.7%, with 83.2% now utilizing improved latrines.
-
Climate Readiness: The adoption rate of sustainable disaster management practices among the communities jumped dramatically, going from just 10% to 87.8%.
-
Women’s Leadership: The program successfully elevated over 1,500 women from community-based organizations (CBOs) into active leadership roles. These women now represent their communities on local government standing committees focusing on critical areas like education, health, and disaster management.
In essence, REE-CALL serves as a comprehensive, scalable blueprint for tackling the intersecting crises of climate vulnerability, poverty, and gender inequality at the grassroots level.
Back to Climate Change Encyclopedia Index Page