There are more than 100,000 female sex workers in Bangladesh and, as with other vulnerable populations, restrictions imposed in response to the coronavirus pandemic are disrupting their access to livelihoods.
Some brothel-based sex workers are accessing support from the local government, however, less than 4,000 of them live in brothels.
UNAIDS and UNICEF have been supporting the network of sex workers to develop income generating entrepreneurships run by sex workers to be able to compensate the loss of income due to COVID-19.
Also, through the network of sex workers and in collaboration with the Bangladesh Country Coordinating Mechanism (BCCM), UNAIDS has supported 23 community-based organizations of sex workers to procure protective commodities such as soap, masks, etc. during the initial stages of the response to COVID-19.
