Iftar meals which will be served to to orphaned children, rickshaw-pullers, street vendors, and people from other marginalised sections of society who have become unemployed during lockdown. Image by Liza Asma Akhter, Mehmankhana. Used with permission. Bangladesh is experiencing its second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, with rising infection rates and deaths since April 2021, however, as of June 2021, the situation is starting to gradually improve. The pandemic has resulted in a significant rise in unemployment and particularly affected day labourers and other low-income groups from the informal sector who have not had any work due to prolonged Covid-19 restrictions and business closures. Due to an inadequate government social safety net, there is a food crisis among lower-middle-class and low-income families and many cannot afford three meals a day. In response to this, several government and civil sector efforts, mostly funded by the general public, corporate social responsibility initiatives and charities, are ensuring that the hungry are fed. After confirming the first COVID-19 cases in March 2020, Bangladesh imposed a general holiday (lockdown) on March 26, 2020, closing all businesses and institutions except the service sector and emergency services. Thousands of people lost their jobs and were unable to pay their rent in urban centres, which forced many of them to return to their family villages though no job opportunities existed. The lockdown was relaxed in June 2020 and the economy started to recover. However, this had an impact on the lives and livelihoods of low-income people. Bangladesh's second wave of coronavirus started in March 2021, and the countrywide lockdown restrictions started on April 5. Although this wave has not been as catastrophic as neighbouring India's, low-income people and day labourers took another economic hit due to the lockdown, although it has been relaxed in recent weeks. To help those facing increased hunger due to the pandemic, there have been many governmental and non-governmental initiatives to deliver food to those in need. The a2i program of the Information and Communication Technology Division of the Bangladesh Government has had a citizen service & information call centre ‘333’ since 2018. Since April 2020, the services have been extended for COVID-19 information, telemedicine, and emergency food assistance for people in need. Many lower-middle-class families who had previously been able to support themselves, lost their resources during the pandemic and found it difficult to seek assistance from others. How the helpline works has been highlighted in a status on its Facebook page: খাদ্য সহায়তা পাওয়ার জন্য ৩৩৩ তে ফোন করুন। ৩৩৩ তে ফোন দেওয়ার পর ৩ চাপুন । প্রকৃত সেবাপ্রার্থীরা যেন তাদের সেবাটি সঠিকভাবে পেতে পারেন, সেজন্য আইভিআর সিস্টেমের মাধ্যমে প্রাথমিকভাবে একটি স্ক্রিনিং প্রক্রিয়া পরে কলটি এজেন্টের কাছে পাঠানো হয়। তারপর আপনার সমস্যার কথা বলুন আমাদের এজেন্টের কাছে । আমাদের এজেন্ট সংশ্লিষ্ট উপজেলা নির্বাহী কর্মকর্তা কাছে আপনার তথ্যটি পাঠিয়ে দিবেন। সরেজমিনে যাচাই-বাছাই করে প্রকৃত অভাবী মানুষের বাড়িতে খাদ্য সহায়তা পৌঁছে দেওয়া হবে। Call 333 (and press 3) for emergency food assistance. To ensure that the actual service seekers can get the service, the call is sent to an agent after an initial screening process through the IVR system. Then speak to your agent about your problem. Our agent will send your information to the concerned Upazila Nirbahi Officer, an executive of the local administration. Dry food aid will be delivered to the homes of needy people after a spot check and confirmation. The Emergency Response Center of the Department of Disaster Management collects the required food aid information from the field administration and allocates the food to those in need. In April 2020 alone, the helpline responded to over 46,600 families’ calls for food assistance. Emergency food assistance service for the hungry is still available during the latest round of lockdown despite some complaints. For example, when a man from Narayanganj called ‘333’ for emergency food assistance in May 2021, authorities found out that the person owns a house and a business and he was fined to provide 100 low-income people with food as a punishment. However, later it was found out that despite owning a house, the person wasn't able to work due to partial disability and lost his business. So he really needed the assistance. Bidyanondo Foundation's relief effort. Image via Bidyanondo. Used with permission. The Bidyanondo Foundation led by IT professional turned activist Kishor Kumar Das started their work in 2013 to provide education to thousands of underprivileged street kids of Bangladesh.