ABOUT SPHERE COMMUNITY BANGLADESH

Sphere Community Bangladesh is a national inter-agency coalition for humanitarian workers in Bangladesh, with the primary goal of promoting and popularising the Sphere Principles and Standards within the country. Initiated in 2012, SCB acts as a crucial point of contact for various stakeholders, facilitating coordination and collaboration within a complex network of individuals, local and national NGOs, international organisations, the Red Cross Red Crescent Movement, the United Nations, as well as the private sector. SCB has evolved into a platform that enables multiple groups and voices to come together, share knowledge, assess, and address gaps in humanitarian aid, and most importantly, act as a mechanism of accountability within the field. 

The SCB conducts various activities, such as translating the Sphere Handbook into Bangla, conducting training on the Sphere Principles and Standards, especially for local and government agencies, encouraging experienced individuals to participate in the Training of Trainers (ToT) and popularising and disseminating available resources and courses on Sphere.

SCB operates with a rotating secretariat organization that serves a two-year term. Since its initiation in 2012, the secretariat has been held by the IFRC (twice), CARE, BRAC, Islamic Relief, and now COAST.

• 2023 to 2024: International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) – Bangladesh Country Delegation
• 2025 to 2026: COAST Foundation

About COAST Foundation

COAST Foundation is a national NGO, effectively engaged in development and humanitarian response programs with a strong commitment to advancing the localization of aid campaigns at home and abroad. The organization is a member of the CHS Alliance, ICVA, Sphere, ADRRN, Alliance for Empowering Partnership (A4EP), ALNAP, among others, and holds special consultative status with UN ECOSOC.

As a secretariat of SCB, COAST Foundation aims to update memberships, translate and print the Sphere Handbook in Bangla, organize training on Sphere principles and standards including Training of Trainers (ToT) events, publish a newsletter, regularize meetings, conduct assessment and evaluation of the Sphere principles and standards in humanitarian response, disseminate learning and knowledge and maintain web-based documentation of Sphere resources.