Posted by: Farzana Yesmin
on Aug 06, 2009
A combination of generous international aid since 1990, a dynamic civil society culture and sympathetic government policies has created a generally positive outlook for achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in Bangladesh. In a number of areas, progress is more rapid than in neighbouring India or Pakistan. A wide range of government food and cash safety net schemes reached over 20 million people in 2007.
Nevertheless, with its large population and overcrowded cities, Bangladesh remains one of the poorest countries in the world. Poverty is assessed in a household income and expenditure survey held every five years. The most recent survey in 2005 found 40% of the population to be below the poverty line, measured by the cost of essential food and basic needs, compared with 59% in 1991, the MDG baseline year. Progress has been uneven, with the most severe poverty located in urban slums and in the Chittagong Hill Tracts. Just under 20% of the population falls into the category of extreme poverty, lacking resources to acquire a minimum dietary intake.
Gender equality in primary school enrolment has already been attained and most children take advantage of free primary education. However, poor teaching quality and the pressures of poverty have rocketed the drop-out rate to an alarming 47%.
The former Director of the Millennium Project, Professor Jeffrey Sachs, has suggested an MDG price tag for Bangladesh of $4 billion per annum, far more than current levels of aid. An alternative perspective is the suggestion that the Goals cannot be achieved without universal access to electricity. Current coverage is barely more than 20%. The government's target of access for all by 2020 is a vision that has been priced at $16 billion.
