Eradication of Poverty: SDG GOAL-1

“Poverty is the parent of revolution and crime.”

— Aristotle.

INTRODUCTION: According to the World Bank, Poverty is a pronounced

deprivation in well-being and comprises(গ�ঠত) many dimensions. It includes low
incomes and the inability to acquire the basic goods and services necessary for
survival with dignity. Poverty also encompasses(পিরেব�ন) low levels of health and
education, poor access to clean water and sanitation, inadequate physical
security, lack of voice, and insufficient capacity and opportunity to better one’s
life.
Poverty Alleviation is the set of steps taken in an economic and humanitarian
way to eradicate poverty in a country. According to the World Bank, if a person is
living on $1.90 a day or less, then he/she is living in extreme poverty, and
currently, 767 million people in the world fall under that category.
POVERTY SITUATION IN BANGLADESH:

Bangladesh is an under-developed nation. Despite rapid economic growth,

poverty remains a major issue. However, poverty has declined sharply in recent
history. Shortly after its independence, approximately 90% of the population lived
under the poverty line. However, since economic reforms and trade
liberalization(উদারীকরণ ) of early 1990s, along with accelerated economic growth
since early-2000s, Bangladesh have experienced a dramatic progress in
reducing poverty. The remarkable progress in poverty alleviation has been
recognized by international institutions. According to World Bank, more than 33
million Bangladeshi people have been lifted out of poverty since 2000; as
measured by the percentage of people living on the equivalent of US$1.90 or
less per day in 2011 purchasing price parity terms.

Since early-2000s, rapid economic growth has fueled a remarkable increase in

per-capita income. Bangladesh's per capita has increased almost threefold
between 2010 and 2020, from under $700 to $2,068, (the highest GDP per capita
in South Asia) moving Bangladesh into the ranks of middle-income economy. At
current growth, Bangladesh is projected to enter upper-middle income status by
2041. Based on the current rate of poverty reduction, Bangladesh is projected to
eradicate extreme poverty by 2031, as outlined in its Eighth Five-Year Plan
(2020–2025) and supported by reports from organizations such as the World
Bank and the Asian Development Bank. Bangladesh has exhibited remarkable
(উে�খেযাগ� ) accomplishments (কৃিত�) in diverse spheres, encompassing poverty
reduction, ensuring food security, enhancing primary education, reducing
mortality ratios, expanding immunization (�টকা) coverage, and effectively
addressing communicable (সং�ামক) diseases.

HOW BANGLADESH HAS ALLEVIATED PROVERTY THROUGH OUT THE

YEARS:

Bangladesh's economic reform started with the implementation of investment

friendly economic policies, privatization of public industries, budgetary discipline,
and liberalization of trade were among
the key elements behind acceleration
of Bangladesh's economy. Since then,
Bangladesh has been among the
fastest growing economies in the
world, exceeding 6 percent growth
annually between 2004 and 2015. The
GDP growth further accelerated
exceeding 7 percent mark since then,
and is projected to gradually exceed
10 percent growth until 2020.

Among Bangladesh's many economic

and social achievements, dramatic
reduction in poverty in often considered a phenomenon among international
organizations such as IMF and The World Bank. Between 1972 and 2018,
Bangladesh's population living on less than $1.90/day is estimated to have fallen
from 90% to 9%. Between 2008 and 2018, The per capita income in the country
increased 149%.

As of 2020, female labor force participation rate stands at 50%, while net female
school enrollment rate stands at a staggering 98%. World Economic Forum ranks
Bangladesh as the most gender-equal nation in South Asia (ranked 47th,
followed by Maldives 106th; India 108th).

CHALLENGES IN ERADICATING POVERTY IN BANGLADESH:

Bangladesh is both an inspiration and a challenge for policymakers and

practitioners (অনুশীলনকারী) of development. While the income growth, human
development and vulnerability reduction efforts to date have been
extraordinary, Bangladesh faces daunting challenges with about 22 million
people still living below the poverty line. The country is at an important
juncture: with the right policies and timely action, it can move up within the
middle-income bracket. The World Bank has identified job creation as the
country’s top development priority. Bangladesh needs to create more and
better jobs for the 2 million youth entering the job market every year. To do
so, Bangladesh will need to remove the barriers to higher growth posed by
low access to reliable and affordable power, poor transportation
infrastructure, limited availability of serviced land, uncertain and complex
business regulation, rapid urbanization and vulnerability to climate change
and natural disasters, among others.
CAUSES OF POVERTY IN BANGLADESH:
Many people live in remote areas that lack services such as education, health
clinics, and adequate roads, particularly road links to markets.An estimated 35
percent of the population in rural areas lives below the poverty line. They suffer
from persistent food insecurity, own no land and assets, are often uneducated,
and may also suffer serious illnesses or disabilities.
An estimated 21 percent of the population in urban areas lives below the poverty
line.
In October 2024, A UN report has stated that in Bangladesh, around 4.17 crore
people are living in extreme poverty, with 6.5 per cent of the population facing
severely dire conditions
One of the biggest cause of rural poverty is due to the fast-growing population
rate. It places huge pressure on the environment, causing problems such as
erosion and flooding, which in turn leads to low agricultural productivity.

The causes of urban poverty are due to the limited employment opportunities,
degraded environment, bad housing and sanitation. The urban poor hold jobs
that are labour demanding, thus affecting their health conditions. Therefore, the
urban poor are in a difficult situation to escape poverty.[23]

Recent population growth has contributed to an escalating poverty rate in

Bangladesh, with the country experiencing a yearly increase of 1 million
people.[24] Roughly two-thirds of Bangladesh's land lies at an elevation of five
meters or less, exposing over 165 million people to the risks of natural disasters
like cyclones, floods, earthquakes, and landslides. The resulting environmental
conflicts significantly impact the country's economic conditions, with close to $6.5
billion lost annually due to environmental degradation, equivalent to 3.4 percent
of Bangladesh's GDP.[25] Air and water pollution are major contributors to the
country's health challenges, causing nearly 28 percent of deaths. According to
the Environmental Performance Index (EPI) report, Bangladesh ranks 162nd out
of 180 as one of the most polluted countries

In particular, poverty has been linked strongly to education and employment.

Research papers published by the Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies
(BIDS) have shown that poverty acts as both a cause and effect of a lack of
education, which in turn adversely affects employment opportunities. Having an
unskilled workforce also greatly decreases the productivity of the workforce
which decreases the appeal of Foreign Direct Investments (FDIs) and thus
impedes sustainable economic growth. In essence, education is an important
contribution to the social and economic development of a country.

Over the past two decades, Bangladesh has consistently held the seventh
position globally in vulnerability to extreme weather events, as indicated by the
Global Climate Risk Index.

GOVERNMENTS ACTION TO ALLEVIATE INDIGENCE:

Significant success has been achieved in the poverty alleviation of Bangladesh by
government and private efforts and the coordinated efforts of various social
enterprises. As a result of the implementation of the government's planned policies, the
poverty rate in Bangladesh has decreased despite the global recession due to the effects
of the Russia-Ukraine war after the Covid-19 outbreak. . According to the preliminary
report of the 'Household Income and Expenditure Survey 2022', the country currently
has a poverty rate of 18.7 percent and an extreme poverty rate of 5.6 percent.
Bangladesh's success in implementing poverty alleviation strategies such as
1. expanding social safety nets for people at risk of poverty,
2. financial incentives, encouraging micro-savings,
3. effective disaster risk reduction programs and
4. building resilience to the effects of climate change has attracted global attention.

In the financial year 2023-24, the number of elderly beneficiaries is 58.01 lakh, the
number of widows and dependent women beneficiaries is 25.75 lakh and the
number of beneficiaries under the education stipend program for disabled students
is 1 lakh. Also, the number of disability allowance beneficiaries has been increased
from 23.65 lakh to 29 lakh in the financial year 2022-23 and the monthly allowance
has been increased from Tk 750 to Tk 850. At present, under the social security
 program, the beneficiaries of only these four programs total 106.41 lakh people,
which is about 3.47 percent more than the total beneficiaries of the previous
financial year.
This impressive trend in poverty reduction has helped Bangladesh achieve
the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) on poverty two years ahead of
schedule. In the most recent VNR (Voluntary National Review), Bangladesh
highlighted progress in several key areas. This included notable reductions in
poverty (SDG 1) and hunger (SDG 2). To successfully achieve LDC
graduation by 2026, the SDGs by 2030, and UMIC status by 2031,
Bangladesh will have to move from commitments to accelerated actions,
policies and interventions, and financing, alongside the necessary reforms.
After the massive July mass uprising the previous regime has falled and a new
interim government took the charge. Nobel laureate Dr. Yunus ,who is known as a
pioneer of 3 zero formula, has taken oath as the chief adviser of this interim
government. It suddenly brings aspiration to the nation in term of eliminating
poverty completely. Dr.Yunus was one of the most self-denying character who came
back in his motherland after the liberation war,at a time when the nation was facing
its peak economic trauma due to the war,eventually it was a famine took place in
1974 due to the extreme poverty. Dr. Yunus along with his Grameenbank tried hard
to recover this economical crisis by generating multiple creative ideas which helped
the rural natives to eliminate their poverty. For this Dr.Yunus and his Grameenbank
was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize 2006. After many years , Now in 2024,at a time
when the economy and banking system of the state looks almost fragile, he came
back once again to his motherland as a role of the leader of the country to reform its
economy and many more sections. Dr.Yunus with his three zero formula can
eventually eradicate poverty from this land.Three zero includes zero hunger, zero
unemployment and zero carbon emmision are the main features on the lingering
trails of Yunus’s “Poverty Free World” Ambition. Bangladesh will take the
advangtages of this intellectual ideas and initiatives to eradicate poverty completely.
NGO’s ROLE IN ERADICATING POVERTY:
Beside Government many NGO’s are working in the rural areas of Bangladesh
aiming the complete shut down of poverty from the country. There are some
NGO’s working for fighting against poverty given below-
1. BRAC: As of December of 2016, the national aid organization BRAC had
reached over 90,000 families in Bangladesh suffering from extreme poverty.
BRAC was founded in 1972 in Bangladesh with the goal of discovering the
cause of extreme poverty in the nation and ways to relieve its people.
 2. The Grameen Danone Foundation: This foundation was established in
2007. It is a social business model that aims to reduce extreme hunger in
Bangladesh through the distribution of affordable yogurt that provides missing
nutrients to malnourished people. The foundation created jobs for local
farmers and women looking to bring themselves out of poverty. The main
priority of the organization is to provide nutritious products to extreme
poverty areas at an affordable rate, while also providing jobs to those looking
to help themselves.
3. The Poverty Eradication Program (PEP): PEP is a non-profit, non-
governmental (NGO) organization operating at the national level in
Bangladesh. PEP focuses on rural poverty in its most extreme variations and
works with the people to provide them with resources that will allow them to
rise out of poverty. PEP will provide the resources needed to start the business
then watch as it flourishes. They accomplish such feats through grants, training
or offering the tools required for business.
4. Care: CARE has been active in today’s Bangladesh since 1949.In FY23, CARE
in Bangladesh reached out to 5.3 million people directly where 64% were
female.

SOME STEPS TO ALLEVIATE POVERTY:

1. Bangladesh will need to maintain growth in income,

2. supporting entrepreneurship by reducing the transaction costs of doing

business, and strengthening the transparency and accountability of both the
public and private sectors.

3. Bangladesh should cater more aggressively to the skills development of its

growing youth population to fully harness the “demographic opportunity” resulting
from the falling fertility rates

4. to productive employment in both domestic and global labor markets will help
with both poverty reduction and increase the flow of remittances.

5. Bangladesh can make better use of its vast social safety net expenditures
through improvements in program design so as to emphasize human capital
accumulation (such as child nutrition and cognitive development, education, and
skills) and productive employment.

6. improving the timing of safety net responses to mitigate the effects of various
natural disasters and global shocks, will ensure that growth remains inclusive.
7. Targeting these benefits and services to the poorest people,

Consolidating efforts to deliver results in these areas in both the short and
medium term could provide Bangladesh with a powerful formula to increase
growth with equity.

8. Emphasize on diverse income streams rather than pure microfinance.

CONCLUSION:
Around 5 lakh people in Bangladesh likely fell into extreme poverty between the fiscal
years 2022-23 and 2023-2024 due to the erosion of purchasing power, said the World
Bank. Though the previous government took many necessary measures to ensure
complete alleviation of poverty but corruption at all level hindered the initiatives and
blocked the path of complete eradication of poverty from the country. The new
interim government leading by Dr. Yunus showing the light of hope in this matter.
People are trusting Dr. Yunus and his three zero formula to eradicate poverty from
the country.But only trusting on the leader can not help to stair to the aim. Intellectual
initiatives along with Peoples honest envolvement and co operation is important for
this journey of eradicating poverty.