Bangladesh’s Early Warnings for All national roadmap to scale up the country’s multi-hazard early warning system

Bangladesh has achieved a milestone in the country’s two-year journey towards an effective and resilient early warning system: the launch of its Early Warnings for All (EW4All) National Roadmap.

Officially approved by the Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief (MoDMR) in June 2026, the Roadmap will help lay a foundation for enabling communication availability and multistakeholder coordination, as well as ensuring lifesaving, understandable alerts reach those at risk in time to act, strengthening Bangladesh’s resilience and emergency preparedness.

Bangladesh experiences extreme weather events including tropical cyclones, monsoon and flash floods, storm surges, landslides, extreme temperature events, and droughts. It was one of the first 30 at-risk countries selected to pilot EW4All.

As global lead of EW4All Pillar 3, on warning dissemination and communication, the ITU Telecommunication Development Bureau (BDT) played a key role in strengthening the country’s early warning system.

BDT provided critical support to reach Bangladesh’s warning dissemination and communication targets, with an emphasis on integrating cell broadcast into the country’s existing early warning infrastructure. The support included the provision of technical expertise during the development of the National Emergency Telecommunication Plan, identification of at-risk populations without digital coverage through the Early Warning Connectivity Map, and the organization and facilitation of capacity-development sessions on warning dissemination and communication from 2023 to 2025.

Dr Cosmas Luckyson Zavazava, Director, BDT emphasized on the importance of reinforcing early warning systems to ensure everyone is protected: “The EW4All National Roadmap represents a significant milestone in Bangladesh’s journey toward sustainable development. Strengthening early warning systems and leveraging digital networks to reach the last mile means effectively safeguarding lives and ensuring that communities remain resilient in the face of increasingly frequent extreme weather events.”
The EW4All National Dissemination Workshop on 30 November 2025, organized by MoDMR and hosted by the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission, sought to secure endorsement from key decision-makers and partners to finalize and advance the implementation of the roadmap.

“We are grateful to the ITU, the global lead of Pillar 3 EW4All initiative, for providing technical support during Bangladesh’s consultative process along with Pillar 1, 2, 4 leads and coordination lead, the World Food Programme,” said K M Abdul Wadud, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and former Additional Secretary, Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief.

The Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) is the national Pillar 3 co-lead, driving country implementation together with the Department of Disaster Management (DDM). These two national agencies are key players in ensuring that the mobile network industry is onboard for implementing the roadmap.

“Cell broadcast ensures that lifesaving alerts arrive instantly, without apps or data, on any mobile device and in any language to empower communities to act ahead of hazards. BTRC is committed to ensuring communications availability in the event of emergency and multistakeholder coordination in line with NETP,” said Major General Md Emdad ul Bari, Chairman, BTRC.

Razwanur Rahman, Director General of the DDM, stressed the need for an integrated approach combining traditional communication systems with innovative digital tools to strengthen Bangladesh’s disaster preparedness. “Dissemination is carried out using voice messages, digital display boards, miking, and community volunteers, ensuring that the information reaches even the most remote and vulnerable populations,” he said.

With the EW4All National Roadmap in place, Bangladesh is setting a strong example of how coordinated, inclusive, and understandable warning dissemination can turn alerts into early action. These efforts mark a significant step toward ensuring that every person in Bangladesh receives timely, reliable, and life-saving alerts in face of growing climate risks.