H&M Foundation, an initiative of the Swedish fashion giant H&M Group, is initiating a long-term project to support women garment workers in Bangladesh with a primary fund of $1.3 million, starting with their urgent needs connected to COVID-19.
As a first step, $1.3 million will be donated to WaterAid, CARE and Save the Children to provide around 76,000 young women, their families, and community members in around Dhaka with emergency relief, also reaching 1 million people with messages on Covid-19 and hygiene practices.
The initial support will include cash assistance for food, medication, and other necessities, health care and Covid-19 testing, hygiene materials and handwashing facilities, and work on awareness-raising, support to families where gender-based violence increases as an effect of the crisis, child protection and child education focusing on disadvantaged children.
In addition, H&M Foundation is also taking on a long-term commitment, starting in the autumn of 2020, involving important players from different sectors to achieve systemic long-lasting change, equipping women garment workers in Bangladesh for a future where work is defined by automation and digitalization.