Dr. Md. Shairul Mashreque :
The contemporary policy concerns about the magnitude of poverty have led to the increasing institutional attention to the need for alleviation of the worst form of deprivation and allocation. Hard Core Poverty is a testimonial of this worst from that continues to sap human dignity with associated menacing setbacks. This is veritable reflection of disastrous policy outcomes with reference to globalization, open market economy and structural adjustment programme (SAP). In addition discriminatory resource allocations, politics of scarcity, fierce competition, power politics and manifold forms fraud and terrorism are sufficient reasons for increasing impoverishment and marginalization of the poor masses.
We may safely situate the poorest of the poor in hard core poverty line in terms of consumption of calorie. They constitute the lowest decile of household in terms of income distribution.
Hare core poverty is synonymous with below poverty line equilibrium trap. This is the incidence of severe poverty characterized by the following concomitants : (World
Bank study cited is Narayan et.al 2000).
– Livelihood and assets are precarious, seasonal and inadequate.
– Places of the poor are isolated, risky, unserved and stigmatized.
– The body is hungry, exhausted, sick and poor in appearance.
– Gender relations are troubled and unequal.
– Social relations are discriminatory and isolating.
– Security is lacking in the sense of protection and peace of mind.
– Behaviors of those more powerful are marked by disregard and abuse.
– Institutions are disempowering and excluding.
– Organizations of the poor are weak and disconnected.
– Capabilities are weak because of lack of information, education,
– skills and confidence.
There has been phenomenal growth of anti-poverty programs over the last couple of decades. Anti-poverty programs are wide ranging covering a large variety of subsectors, e.g., helath, hygiene, sanitation, primary medicate, education, non-formal education, agriculture, horculture, agro-forestry, livestock, poultry, fisheries, cottage industries, institution building, social mobilization, conscientization, micro-credit and income and employment generation.
NGOs intend to wage crusade on poverty through target group approach putting the last first. “A broader definition of target group approach is: the functionally landless poor or those who earn more than half of their livelihood by selling their manual labour, artisan, craftsman, fishermen, manual thransport workers, who own no implement, gear or employment related issues” (Report of the Task Forces: 72)
To the disenchantment of many basic need policy strategy side tracks the HCP despite alarming level of destitution in rural area including feminization of crushing poverty. It is true that any intervention to alleviate HCP is a Herculean task. It is expected to attempt at combating gross imbalance in power relations, giving collateral-free institutional credit to promote self-development, removing lopsided patron client relationship, capacity building, empowering destitute woment who own no arable and often no land for homestead, especially the helpless women because of disablement, divorce or death of husband.
The Hard Core Poverty (HCP) as a conceptual and practical issue is not brought into development interventions of GO-NGO alike for poverty alleviation. In other words HCP people have been excluded from the purview. In recent times a number of ‘NGOs at home and abroad’ have come to realize this omission growing out of hitherto existing gap in the state of knowledge “A very important segment of the poor who composes twenty five percent of the poor household (HH) is known by various different labels such as the poorest of the poor” ultra poor vulnerable, hard core poor, etc. Proper knowledge about this seemingly neglected otherwise important aspect of the impoverished population has much to do with empirical definitional continuum as a mark of identifying HCP This is a sine-qua-non for strategic management of poverty alleviation process focussing on HOP. As an emerging poverty issue HCP is now treated as a special component of poverty alleviation policy of national government. Poverty alleviation in general and hard core poverty in particular, have received consideration in the sectoral program.
The government of Bangladesh march ahead with necessary institutional efforts and huge amount of resources to address HCP; the attention is exclusively given to the extreme form However the efforts are not directed in a befitting manner, rather sporadic non comprehensive efforts without snstainasility happen because of lack of proper policy direction. The situation as such demands that the existing programs need to be given a definite sustainability and research evaluations are necessary. Three fold research intervention is essential: policy oriented research evaluation of the existing program and documentation of sucess and future cases and innovative action research (Ahmed 2001 :21-23).
Policy intervention in poverty alleviation sector has changed to some extent with the adcvcnt of the issue of HOP which htreatens to upset the program of sustainable rural development. It is now an opportune time for us to take a look at what the public sector and NGOs are doing to scale up efforts at alleviating HOP Poverty reduction seems halt hearted. The problem is treated rather perfunctorily. What is needed is all out attack on poverty with appropriate strategy. We need to focus on family. In doing Se, we recommsed social support services for the poor, including housing, sanitation, safe water, basic education and a wide variety of economic activities through which the HEP can obtain higher income, access to land credit and other sources of economic power. In Bangladesh rural situation, the enhancement of women’s status practically has to be given prominency. In addition the law enforcement and legal structure which are often used by vested to exploit the poor, that must be challanged with efforts to permanently reform them.
In fine it is not presumptive to comment that rural economy of Bangladesh is on the verge of obliteration in the midst of the crisis of absolute poverty. It is a sign of development of underdevelopment albeit with a large variety of antecedents. Diasstrous outcomes of pre-existing programs need compensation mechanism with the realization that poorest of the poorest ought to obtain access to social services inputs and subsidy benefits.
