Health and Socio-Economic Impacts of Climate-Related Displacement in Bangladesh’s Chars: Causal Evidence From a Household Survey

Objectives To assess health and socio-economic impacts of climate-related displacement in North-East Bangladesh chars and examine links between non-governmental services, disease burden and migration. Methods We analysed a household survey of 480 women aged 15–55 from nine intervention and three comparison chars, collected between March and June 2022. Using a quasi-experimental framework and estimators of the average treatment effect, we compared displaced and non-displaced households and households in chars with and without Friendship health and education services. We constructed indices of disease burden, migration and socio-economic conditions, each scaled 0–100. Results Displaced households had lower disease burden scores than non-displaced households after adjusting for socio-economic covariates. This pattern is consistent with improved access to services among some displaced groups, but may also reflect reporting differences and selection into the observed displaced population. Migration intensity was higher in chars where Friendship operates than in comparison chars, suggesting programme placement in areas with stronger migration pressures. Conclusion Climate-related displacement interacts with service access, vulnerability and selection in complex ways; targeted interventions can reduce disease burden but do not necessarily lower migration pressures.