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Decision-Making: Coordinating Bodies
The decision-making structure for poverty alleviation and environmental improvements includes political commitments and decisions at the level of Ministries concerned and local governmental bodies.
Decision-Making: Legislation and Regulations
No information is available.
Decision-Making: Strategies, Policies and Plans
In Bangladesh, poverty and unemployment are at a critical stage, and poverty
alleviation represents a central theme in the national development policies and actions.
Lack of income and employment opportunities, aggravated by population and labour force
increase, on the one hand, and environmental degradation, lack of health care and
sanitation, on the other, has made poverty problems more acute.
However, the present economic growth (below 5%) and the low rate of savings and investment
are not capable of breaking the poverty cycle. The strategy of the Government is thus to
accelerate economic growth and increase investments in the priority sectors like
agriculture, including through subsidies in agriculture, industries and infrastructure
(rural infrastructure, in particular), education, health, and human resources development,
especially of women and youth. Free primary education, special financial benefits for
female students, large-scale training, and credit provisions for employing women and youth
also contribute to poverty alleviation.
Decision-Making: Major Group Involvement
Major groups participating in the decision-making on poverty issues include the
landless and marginal farmers, urban poor, women, unemployed young people and other
vulnerable groups.
Both the Government and NGOs have to collaborate closely in combating poverty.
Programmes and Projects
At present, different Ministries and Agencies like the Ministry of Agriculture, Environment and Forest, Women's and Children's Affairs, Fisheries and Livestock, Youth and Sports, Social Welfare; BRDB, BSCIC, LGED and NGOs have their own programmes which help to increase employment opportunities and income and the development of disadvantaged groups. In addition to Food for Work programs, VDG, RMP and the safety net programmes create employment and support the vulnerable groups.
Status
Sustainable development is highly linked to economic, social and ecological factors. Poverty greatly affects the environment. The present development strategy for combating poverty, expanded health and sanitation facilities, population control, increased afforestation and social forestry involving the people would go a long way toward environmental improvement and poverty alleviation.
Challenges
The capacities of the governmental organizations, local governmental bodies and NGOs have to be developed, and people should be involved in the process of poverty alleviation programmes and environmental improvements. Public awareness raising through mass media will also be helpful in this respect.
Capacity-building, Education, Training and Awareness-raising
No information is available
Information
No information is available
Research and Technologies
No information is available
Financing
The Government finances poverty alleviation through revenue and development budgets, and NGOs have their own resources.
Cooperation
No information is available
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This information is based on Bangladesh's submission to the 5th Session of the
United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development, April 1997. Last update: 1 April
1997
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Decision-Making: Coordinating Bodies
No information is available.
Decision-Making: Legislation and Regulations
A National Population Council, headed by the Prime Minister of the Republic, has been set up to provide policy guidelines and programme direction. In addition, decisions are taken by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare in consultation with different Ministries, Divisions and Departments.
Decision-Making: Strategies, Policies and Plans
The Government views population growth and the fertility level as too high and tries to bring them to a lower level through policy interventions. A number of modern methods are being provided by the Family Planning Programme of Bangladesh, including male and female sterilization, injections, condoms and oral contraceptive pills. In addition, traditional methods are being promoted in the programme. Necessary steps have aleready been taken to promote Norplant in the country. There is a priority need for the local production of contraceptives for which both local and external investments are required.
Decision-Making: Major Groups Involvement
In Bangladesh, NGOs play a major role in addition to the public sector in the Family Planning Programme both in advocacy and service delivery efforts. There are many NGOs working in this field, the major ones being the Family Planning Association of Bangladesh (FPAB); the Bangladesh Association of Voluntary Sterilization (BAVS), and Pathfinder International.
Status
Though a small country in the South Asian green belt, Bangladesh is the ninth most
densely populated country (except for some island countries) in the world today. The
country's population was about 42 million in 1951 and increased to 112 million in 1991. It
is estimated that the current population size (120 million in 1995) will reach about 146
million by the year 2010. The young age structure, a basic characteristic of Bangladesh's
population, will continue to contribute to the increasing absolute size. The 0-14 -year
old group constitutes more than 46% of the total population. Even if the average number of
children per woman falls substantially lower than what it is today, the young age
structure will generate continued growth for decades to come as successively larger
numbers of the Bangladeshi enter their child-bearing years.
The percentage of single women among the age groups 15-19 and 20-24 has also increased
over the past few years. The increase of age at marriage has an important bearing on
fertility decline. The current trend of delaying marriage, if continued, will cause
fertility decline and simultaneously increse the acceptance of contraceptives.
The crude death rate has gradually decreased over the past years dropping below 10 per
1,000 in 1995. In spite of the high Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) even today, a significant
change has taken place in this respect during the past two decades as it dropped from 150
per 1,000 live births in 1975 to 78 per 1,000 live births in 1995. A change was also
noticed in the Maternal Mortality Rate (MMR) over the past decades as it has dropped from
6.2 per 1,000 live births in 1982 to 4.5 per 1,000 live births in 1995.
An increase in life expectancy at birth has also taken place in the country, rising from
48 years in 1973 to 58 years in 1995. The contraceptive prevalence rate which was only
7.7% in 1975 increased to 48.7% in 1995. Over the past few years, the total fertility rate
has shown, albeit with fluctuations, a basically decreasing trend from the level of 6.3 in
1975 to less than 4 in 1995. The desired number of children has also declined from 4.1 in
1975 to 2.5 in 1993-94. This is a positive trend towards fertility decline.
Challenges
No information is available
Capacity-building, Education, Training and Awareness-raising
No information is available
Information
No information is available
Research and Technologies
No information is available
Financing
Despite resource constraints, the Government of Bangladesh has gradually increased financial allocation both in the revenue and in the development sectors.
Cooperation
Other international agencies and development partners providing financial support for the implemenation of the National Family Planning and MCH Programme are the World Bank, USAID, UNFPA, UNICEF, WHO, ADB and the Government of Germany.
Bangladesh is receiving support from regional and international agencies to implement
the national FP-MCH Programme. In addition, the Governments of the Netherlands, Australia,
Canada, Germany, Norway, Sweden, United Kingdom, USA, Japan, the EEC, IDA, UNFPA and other
developed countries are also extending cooperation in this area by providing financial
support.
* * *
This information is based on Bangladesh's submission to the 5th Session of the United
Nations Commission on Sustainable Development, April 1997. Last update: 1 April 1997
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No information is available.
* * *
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Decision-Making: Coordinating Bodies
No information is available
Decision-Making: Legislation and Regulations
No information is available
Decision-Making: Strategies, policies and plans
The government's national education focus is on national education for all by the year 2000. Enrollment in primary schools increased from 12.6 million in 1991 to almost 15.2 million in 1994 while the completion rate increased from 41% in 1991 to 60% in 1993. To improve the quality of education, a competency-based curriculum has been introduced. Free text books are provided to all students in grades I to IV, and a broad programme of in-service teacher training has been introduced.
Decision-Making: Major Groups Involvement
No information is available
Programmes and Projects
A number of programmes for training of teachers, teacher educators and education administrators have been undertaken:
Status
No information is available
Challenges
No information is available
Capacity-building, Education, Training and Awareness-raising
Youth and women have actively been involved in the implementation of programmes for the promotion of education, public awareness and training. Community participation in educational management and the delivery of services have been introduced through school management committees, local education committees and parent-teacher associations.
Information
No information is available
Research and Technologies
No information is available
Financing
No information is available
Cooperation
No information is available
* * *
This information is based on Bangladesh's submission to the 5th Session of the
United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development, April 1997. Last update: 1 April
1997
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Decision-Making: Coordinating Bodies
Decisions are taken by the Cabinet and the Ministry of Housing and Public Works, in consultation with different Ministries, Divisions and Departments.
Decision-Making: Legislation and Regulations
The Constitution of the People's Republic of Bangladesh (1972), in Articles 15 to 20, provides that the people are the utmost concern for the State. They are entitled to enjoy the benefits of human settlements for a healthy and productive life in harmony with nature and in harmony with shared spiritual and moral values and ethical considerations. Inadequate income, poor shelter and homelessness threaten the health and security of life, particularly of the helpless children, women and men.
Decision-Making: Strategies, Policies and Plans
The Bangladesh National Housing Policy (1993) recognizes human settlements in the urban and rural areas as an integral part of culture and planning and economic development. Pursuant to the United Nations Global Strategy to Shelter (GSS), adopted by the United Nations in November 1988, and the UN Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), held in Rio de Janeiro in June 1992, the Government has proposed to adopt an enabling approach and environmental and disaster mitigation for achieving the goals of the strategy in the field of human settlements.
Decision-Making: Major Groups Involvement
No information is available
Programmes and Projects
The following priority issues conform to the initiatives of the Government's Development Plans, particularly in relation to Physical Planning, Water Supply and Housing Sector:
The Urban Development Directorate has been preparing Land Use Plans/Master Plans for
all District Towns and Upazilas. Flood Action Plans (FAP) have since been adopted by the
Government for all cities. Under these circumstances, the Urban Development Directorate
would therefore prepare and use plans for the areas within the FPAs.
Financing this program would require funds from donors and partly from the GOB. Donors
have been providing support for this purpose.
Status
No information is available
Challenges
No information is available
Capacity-building, Education, Training and Awareness-raising
No information is available
Information
In 1990, the interim Government established 26 Task Forces to prepare reports on all sectors of development planning. The Report on Social Implications of Urbanization is a comprehensive document in this context. With the formulation of a National Housing Policy in 1993, support for its implementation was provided by the ADB and UNDP/UNICEF through projects on "Strengthening of Shelter Sector Institutions". In addition, in follow-up to the "Urban and Shelter Sector Review", UNDP assisted the Government of Bangladesh to formulate an Urban Sector Programme Document (NPD). There was an extensive consultative process with concerned governmental agencies, the private sector and NGOs. The NPD identified some priority issues after analysing urban population growth, urban economy and poverty situation, shelter, land and services, transport amd urban environment.
Research and Technologies
No information is available
Financing
No information is available
Cooperation
No information is available
This information is based on Bangladesh's submission to the 5th Session of the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development, April 1997. Last update: 1 April 1997
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