Institutional INVOLVEMENT in Poverty Alleviation: Major Government and NGOs ORGANIZATIONS

1
Institutional INVOLVEMENT in Poverty Alleviation
Major Government and NGOs ORGANIZATIONS

• Sharifa Khan
• Director (Deputy Secretary)
• WTO Cell, Ministry of Commerce
• E-mail sharifanaser_at_gmail.com
• Mobile [phone]

2
Poverty Trends

• Bangladesh is one of the global hub of poverty.
• These could be shown through three dimensions of
  poverty trends
• Trends in income poverty
• Trends in human poverty
• Trends in inequality.

3
Income Poverty in Bangladesh

• About 31.5 people live below the poverty line in
  2010 and 19.5 is the hard core poor.
• The head count poverty percentage declined from
  58.8 in 1992 to 48.9 in 2000, further to 40 in
  2005.
• The total number of people living below the
  poverty line (2122 kilo calorie a day) however,
  increased from 51.6 million in 1992 to 55.8
  million in 2000 and then to 56.0 million in 2005.
• However, hardcore poverty (1805 kilo calorie a
  day) declined both in percentage terms and in
  absolute number. It has decreased from 28 (30.4
  million) in 1992 to 19.5 (27.0 million) in 2005.

4
Data Inconsistency
Year Source Total Population Poverty Total Poor
2005 Population estimation based on Poverty 138,613,900 40.4 56,000,000
2011 Population estimation by 1.36 growth 150,286,750 31.5 47,340,326
2011 Population census, 2011 and HIES 142,319,000 31.5 44,830,485
2011 People perception and HIES of Poverty 160,000,000 31.5 50,400,000
2011 People perception 160,000,000 36 57,600,000
5
Poverty Scenario in Bangladesh
6
Inequality Trends in Bangladesh

• Gini-coefficient in Bangladesh increased from
  0.451 in 2000 to 0.467 in 2005 thus showing
  increase in inequality.
• The top 5 of the population enjoys 26.93 of the
  GNI while the bottom 5 have only 0.77 of the
  national income.
• Inequality is higher in urban areas than that of
  the rural areas.

7
Consequences of Poverty and Inequality

• Tendencies for violence and crime increases with
  poverty.
• Lower socio economic status has been linked to
  chronic stress, heart disease, ulcers, type 2
  diabetics, rheummatoid arthritis, certain types
  of cancer and premature aging.
• Mortality is strongly associated with higher
  income inequality.

8
GOB Initiatives

• It is a constitutional obligation of the
  Government to provide a reasonable living
  standard for the citizens by alleviating poverty.
  
• Moreover, Government of Bangladesh as a signatory
  of MDGs aims at halving poverty and hunger.
• GOB also adopted PRSP as an strategies for
  reduction of poverty.

9
GOB Poverty Reduction Strategies NSAPR II

• The revised PRSP II (2009-2011) identified
  following Strategic Blacks for poverty reduction
• Macro economic environment for pro-poor economic
  growth.
• Critical Areas for Pro-Poor Economic Growth
• Essential Infrastructure for Pro-Poor Economic
  Growth
• Social Protection for the Vulnerable
• Human Resources Development

10
NSAPR II Five Supporting strategies

• Ensuring participation, social inclusion and
  empowerment women. Children, indigenous
  communities, persons with disabilities, extreme
  poor
• Promoting good governance.
• Ensuring efficient delivery of utility services
• Caring for environment and tackling climate
  change for sustainable development
• Enhancing productivity and efficiency through
  science and technology.
• Note Link of NSAPR with budget and actions are
  not clearly established.

11
GOBs Programmes

• Government total budget (direct indirect) for
  poverty reduction in 2010-2011 was Tk. 76,001
  crore which is 57.50 of the total national
  budget.
• GOB operates about 88 social safety net
  programmes.
• Total SSNP budget is 20,476.48 crore which is
  about 15.49 of national budget and 2.54 of GDP.

12
SSNP Budget in 2010-2011 (in Cr. Tk)
Programme 2009-2010 2010-2011
Various allowances including cash allowance 5,539 6056.71
Social Empowerment programme 161.00 55.52
Food security programme 4932.48 7193.27
Micro credit 395.00 340.02
Other fund 3,096.34 3309.13
Total 20476.48
As of total budget 15.49
13
GOBs Main Programmes

• VGF, VGD, test relief
• Old age benefit.
• Employment generation for the hard core poor
• National service.
• Asrayan for the homeless and river erosion
  affected people.
• One house one farm
• Gore Fera.
• Asrayan
• Food for work
• Allowances for the insolvent freedom fighters.
• Allowances for the widow and destitute divorcees
• Allowances for the lactate mother.

14
Government Organizations for Poverty Reduction

• Disaster Management Relief Division.
• Directorate of Cooperative
• Bangladesh Rural Development Board (BRDB)
• Bangladesh Academy for Rural Development (BARD),
  Comilla
• Rural Development Academy (RDA), Bogra.
• LGRD creates employment through construction of
  roads, culverts, hat-bazar, barrage etc.
• Palli Daridra Bemochon Foundation (PDBF)
• Palli Karma Shahayak Foundation (PKSF) distribute
  loans for micro credit.
• Ministry of Social Welfare.
• Small Farmers Development Foundation.
• Directorate of Fisheries
• Information and Communication Technology for the
  Poverty Reduction.

15
Advantage of Government Programme

• Huge funds are available.
• Interest rate is low.
• Use existing administrative facilities.
• Easily extend the coverage.
• If the political leaders really wants it can
  bring better achievements.
• During flood, cyclone and natural calamities
  government can utilize its whole administration.

16
Disadvantages of the GOB Pogrammes

• Highly influenced by politics
• Extremely bureaucratic
• Weak network/linkages with the poor.
• Corruption level is high.
• Miss the target group and often provide benefits
  to the vested interest group.
• Changes priority and programme with the changes
  of government.
• No exit and ladder programme.

17
Development of NGOs in Bangladesh

• Bangladesh has been perhaps the most important
  hearth on the globe for non-governmental
  organizations (NGOs).
• A series of natural disaster and political
  upheavals in this region during the 1940s and
  subsequent decades provided the impetus for the
  development of NGOs.
• After making his fortune in the coal trading
  business, Ranada Prashad Shah built the Kumudini
  Hospital to offer free medical care and treatment
  to people.

18
Development of NGOs in Bangladesh

• Between 1947 and 1970, village-based cooperatives
  were replaced with union-based multipurpose
  cooperative societies.
• During this period, some large cooperative
  enterprises (such as National Industrial Society,
  National Fishermen, Sugarcane Growers
  Federation, and transport cooperatives) were
  established.
• In 1958, the Comilla Rural Academy (formally
  known as the Pakistan Academy for Rural
  Development PARD) was established by Dr. Akhtar
  Hameed Khan.

19
Development of NGOs in Bangladesh

• The Comilla Cooperative Model was launched in
  1959 on experimental basis.
• Throughout the 1960s the Comilla Academy provided
  the conceptual model for two decades of
  integrated rural development programme supported
  by major bilateral and multilateral donors.
• In 1972, Mr. Fazle Hasan Abed founded the
  Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee (BRAC) to
  resettle returning refugees who had fled to India
  during the independence war.

20
Development of NGOs in Bangladesh

• Over the time, NGOs shifted the thrust of their
  work towards social and economic development.
  Moving beyond relief and rehabilitation.
• The new organizations emerged to undertake work
  in the delivery of services particularly in the
  fields of health and education.
• NGOs then involve in micro credit programmes.
• Gradually NGOs involve in policy advocacy on
  various issues of citizen concern including
  environment, conservation, gender equity,
  trafficking of women and children, good
  governance and aid conditionality.

21
Development of NGOs in Bangladesh

• Presently, the number of NGOs in Bangladesh is
  about 26,000.
• The major focus on development or poverty
  alleviation through micro credit.
• Bangladesh received global appreciation for micro
  credit
• The Grameen Bank received noble prize.
• Leading NGOs are BRAC, Grameen Bank, ASA,
  Proshika, Shakti Foundation, TMSS etc.

22
Advantages of the NGOs Programmes in Poverty
Alleviation

• NGOs has strong network at the grass root level
  and can easily reach to the poor.
• Local poor people feel comfortable to communicate
  with NGOs.
• NGOs can deliver the micro credit to the real
  poor.
• NGOs can easily monitor the progress of the poor.
• No collateral is required for micro credit.
• NGOs has great contribution to women empowerment.

23
Criticism of the NGOs Activities

• Interest rate charged by the NGOs on micro credit
  is extremely high.
• NGOs often extort people to collect loan and
  interest.
• Amount of loan is so small, it is hard to become
  self sustain.
• NGO activities are totally dependent on foreign
  loans, thus lack sustainability.
• NGOs activities are destroying local volunteerism
  and making people more dependent.
• Often run with political motives behind the
  apparent scenario and political issues often got
  priority in the operation of NGOs activities.
• Fund is gradually reducing due to diversion of
  donors to other poor countries.

24
What Needs to Be Done

• Government should have programmes for systematic
  graduation from poverty.
• As long as political interference exists in
  GO-NGOs poverty reduction programme, the real
  impact would be minimum.
• Transparency and accountability is needed from
  both sides. E-governance may help reduce the
  problems if it is properly designed and managed.
• Impartial Social audit is important.
• NGOs needs to find alternative ways to generate
  its own fund.