Some lessons from OU MSc Development Management - Places Visited (Bangladesh)

Bangladesh visit - November 2009

Bangladesh - visited Nov 2009  I enjoyed a comfortable office life for my short time in Dhaka, and saw micocredit really working in the villages.  That said, also the tight press of bodies lining the roads, stringy rickshaw-pullers, and a lack of women in the traffic-choked city; in the country my food poisoning was desperate!

History/Economy/Society: Despite independence from Pakistan in 1971, 60% of the population remain landless, (cf ~30% UK), including the vast majority of women.  Water quality is a big problem (Weil's disease, diarrhoeal bacteria in water courses), and latrine usage only 16% in rural areas.  Fertility rate has dropped to 2.2 (from 7 in the 1970s).  Healthcare remains private, but education is free to 18.  Most workers in the largest industry (garments) are women - but with wages as low as $0.15 per hour.  There are 16.3m microcredit borrowers excluding Grameen (which has another 8m) i.e. about 5% of the population.  Transport infrastructure remains poor, and the quality of education is also very poor (high dropout rate).

ODA: $89bn since 1971.  Gradual increase in HDI underpinned by birth control, microcredit, agricultural efficiency (up 3x since 1971), anti-poverty social safety nets (12% of govt spending), and largely the power of the huge NGO BRAC, which has made strides for the population in health, education and other areas.  Bangladesh is a bit of a benchmark for good NGO work.