M I Chowdhury :
At the Millennium Summit in September 2000, world leaders agreed on a common action plan to take on the global challenges through focusing on a bundle of targets, known as the Millennium Development Goals, with a deadline of 2015. The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are the most widely applauded global action plan for addressing extreme poverty in its many dimensions like income poverty, inequality, marginalization as well as promoting gender equality, education, and environmental sustainability. With a view to supporting the Government of Bangladesh to achieve the core targets of Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), it became imperative to initiate a development institution like Social Development Foundation (SDF). It was established as an autonomous and ‘not-for-profit’ entity back in 2000 by the GoB under Ministry of Finance.
Right from the beginning, SDF has evolved as a distinctive forum for pro-poor development programs by means of mounting campaigns for poverty eradication counting on collective actions in its working areas. The organsation, as a matter of fact, has been taking proactive initiatives to empower the disadvantaged people in real terms putting the target communities at the driving seat through Social Investment Program Project (SIPP) since April 2003 following community driven development approach (CDD), focusing to the entire rural community and empowering the voice of the poorest through community based institution building. Unlike other development players, SDF follows the unique approach being relatively innovative type of participatory and demand driven project support in which poor people and their institutions are treated as active partners in development rather than passive beneficiaries. The approach is considered as one of the successful poverty reduction mechanisms from mid 90s by the multilateral development banks and aid agencies that give control over planning decisions and investment resources for local development projects to community groups.
With the US$ 28.55 million (Govt. 2.31 million and IDA 26.24 million) funding in two phases, SIPP; the project was basically carried out in seven poverty-stricken districts. During the life span of the project, around 10,660 youths took development loans for enhancing their skills and at the time of project completion, 7,893 youths were employed as a result of targeted skill development training. At completion of the project, 1,734 community infrastructure works were financed and 2,500,000 people from 1,407 villages were benefitted from those infrastructures, inter alia, 2,490 km earthen roads were built, 3160 culverts were constructed, 2940 hand tube-wells were installed to provide safe drinking water and 85 schools were repaired.
The staggering achievements of SIPP triggered Empowerment and Livelihood Improvement ”Nuton Jibon” Project (SIPP-II) with USD 115 million fund for five years from 2011 to 2016 aiming to reduce poverty by half as a part of the pledge to achieve MDGs, improving access to service delivery and social safety nets for the poor, and increasing agricultural growth as well as non-agricultural employability.
An independent impact evaluation study conducted by the Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS) revealed that out of the 3 Project Development Objectives (PDOs), one was found to be exceeded whilst the remaining two were found nearly achieved. The study, however, categorically mentioned that 58 percent beneficiaries of the project areas surpassed the poverty line and 35 percent of the households increased their income by 40-50 percent which is very close to the project’s end target. Using the national poverty line of the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS), it has been observed that 27 percent of the “hardcore poor” and 31 percent of the “poor” who were classified as poor during the baseline study are now upper the poverty lines as a result of project interventions and 83 percent of village societies (Gram Samitis) established under the project are functioning in a transparent, inclusive and accountable manner.
Taking into account the efficiency and agility of SDF, the World Bank MTR Mission recommended that the “Nuton Jibon” Project should be completed much earlier than its scheduled closure in June 2016. The World Bank being partnered with GoB provided USD 220 million (USD 200 million by WB and USD 20 million by GoB) to fund the follow-up project of SIPP-II titled “Nuton Jibon Livelihood Improvement Project (NJLIP)” for a period of six years. The NJLIP has already been launched with the project development objective ‘to improve livelihoods of the poor and extreme poor in the project areas’ covering around 2,500 new villages in 13 districts in addition to the 3,200 villages supported under the earlier projects.
It is expected that, under NJLIP 40 percent beneficiary households would be able to increase income by at least 30 percent and 90 percent of the total beneficiaries will be female. At the same time, there would be 80 percent beneficiaries with livelihood investment with a financial rate of return of at least 10 percent and 25,000 youths would be employed through project facilitation and sustain for at least one year by the end of project completion in 2021.
Currently, SDF is covering one third of Bangladesh with an outreach of 22 districts. Approximately 10 million people are being benefitted directly and indirectly by SDF and it has a stern objective to contribute significantly to serve the purpose of GoB with a view to achieving SDGs as the same way it contributed actively to achieve MDGs. SDF has a long-term vision to turn the country into a poverty-free one where citizens will have a higher standard of living, better education and social justice, and most importantly more equitable socio-economic environment.
(Chairman, Social Development Foundation & former Secretary)
At the Millennium Summit in September 2000, world leaders agreed on a common action plan to take on the global challenges through focusing on a bundle of targets, known as the Millennium Development Goals, with a deadline of 2015. The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are the most widely applauded global action plan for addressing extreme poverty in its many dimensions like income poverty, inequality, marginalization as well as promoting gender equality, education, and environmental sustainability. With a view to supporting the Government of Bangladesh to achieve the core targets of Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), it became imperative to initiate a development institution like Social Development Foundation (SDF). It was established as an autonomous and ‘not-for-profit’ entity back in 2000 by the GoB under Ministry of Finance.
Right from the beginning, SDF has evolved as a distinctive forum for pro-poor development programs by means of mounting campaigns for poverty eradication counting on collective actions in its working areas. The organsation, as a matter of fact, has been taking proactive initiatives to empower the disadvantaged people in real terms putting the target communities at the driving seat through Social Investment Program Project (SIPP) since April 2003 following community driven development approach (CDD), focusing to the entire rural community and empowering the voice of the poorest through community based institution building. Unlike other development players, SDF follows the unique approach being relatively innovative type of participatory and demand driven project support in which poor people and their institutions are treated as active partners in development rather than passive beneficiaries. The approach is considered as one of the successful poverty reduction mechanisms from mid 90s by the multilateral development banks and aid agencies that give control over planning decisions and investment resources for local development projects to community groups.
With the US$ 28.55 million (Govt. 2.31 million and IDA 26.24 million) funding in two phases, SIPP; the project was basically carried out in seven poverty-stricken districts. During the life span of the project, around 10,660 youths took development loans for enhancing their skills and at the time of project completion, 7,893 youths were employed as a result of targeted skill development training. At completion of the project, 1,734 community infrastructure works were financed and 2,500,000 people from 1,407 villages were benefitted from those infrastructures, inter alia, 2,490 km earthen roads were built, 3160 culverts were constructed, 2940 hand tube-wells were installed to provide safe drinking water and 85 schools were repaired.
The staggering achievements of SIPP triggered Empowerment and Livelihood Improvement ”Nuton Jibon” Project (SIPP-II) with USD 115 million fund for five years from 2011 to 2016 aiming to reduce poverty by half as a part of the pledge to achieve MDGs, improving access to service delivery and social safety nets for the poor, and increasing agricultural growth as well as non-agricultural employability.
An independent impact evaluation study conducted by the Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS) revealed that out of the 3 Project Development Objectives (PDOs), one was found to be exceeded whilst the remaining two were found nearly achieved. The study, however, categorically mentioned that 58 percent beneficiaries of the project areas surpassed the poverty line and 35 percent of the households increased their income by 40-50 percent which is very close to the project’s end target. Using the national poverty line of the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS), it has been observed that 27 percent of the “hardcore poor” and 31 percent of the “poor” who were classified as poor during the baseline study are now upper the poverty lines as a result of project interventions and 83 percent of village societies (Gram Samitis) established under the project are functioning in a transparent, inclusive and accountable manner.
Taking into account the efficiency and agility of SDF, the World Bank MTR Mission recommended that the “Nuton Jibon” Project should be completed much earlier than its scheduled closure in June 2016. The World Bank being partnered with GoB provided USD 220 million (USD 200 million by WB and USD 20 million by GoB) to fund the follow-up project of SIPP-II titled “Nuton Jibon Livelihood Improvement Project (NJLIP)” for a period of six years. The NJLIP has already been launched with the project development objective ‘to improve livelihoods of the poor and extreme poor in the project areas’ covering around 2,500 new villages in 13 districts in addition to the 3,200 villages supported under the earlier projects.
It is expected that, under NJLIP 40 percent beneficiary households would be able to increase income by at least 30 percent and 90 percent of the total beneficiaries will be female. At the same time, there would be 80 percent beneficiaries with livelihood investment with a financial rate of return of at least 10 percent and 25,000 youths would be employed through project facilitation and sustain for at least one year by the end of project completion in 2021.
Currently, SDF is covering one third of Bangladesh with an outreach of 22 districts. Approximately 10 million people are being benefitted directly and indirectly by SDF and it has a stern objective to contribute significantly to serve the purpose of GoB with a view to achieving SDGs as the same way it contributed actively to achieve MDGs. SDF has a long-term vision to turn the country into a poverty-free one where citizens will have a higher standard of living, better education and social justice, and most importantly more equitable socio-economic environment.
(Chairman, Social Development Foundation & former Secretary)
