Sustainably improving the lives of the Bangladeshi ultra poor

Setting the scene

Rural Bangladesh has some of the most desperate poverty that can be found in South Asia. It is an exceptionally crowded country, with 985 people per square kilometre as opposed to  246 in the UK. A little less than 50% of the population live below the national poverty line which is based on the daily basic requirement for food etc. needed to attain a basic minimum level of subsistence. Since the place is so crowded there are few options for the poor in terms of agriculture.

The poorest of the poor, constituting something in the region of 30,000,000 people are the ultra poor. They cannot even afford the basic minimum daily intake of food. Women and children, as is so often the case, suffer the worst.  These numbers are increasing rapidly, by about 1.7% annually which is higher than the numbers poverty where the increase is only 1% annually.  They generally have no land and cannot afford to buy it even if it was available. So they have to rely on labour work or charity in order to meet their daily needs. Actual jobs are few and far between. Men sometimes migrate to the cities in search of work but rarely earn enough to send home regular remittances.

The plight of the ultra poor is awful. These people live in a vicious circle of deprivation. The mothers do not have enough food both in quantity and quality, their babies growth is stunted, the brain does not develop as it would if they were properly nourished, so they grow up well equipped to become the new ultra poor. There is no obvious way out.

There are many organisations working to reduce poverty in Bangladesh. Most prominent among them are large NGOs whose focus on the provision of credit to the poor is well known throughout the world. However, the focus group for these credit programmes is the moderately poor, namely the 30% of the population who are moderately or borderline poor which accordingly excludes the ultra poor. To participate effectively in these kinds of programmes the participants need assets, collateral. They can then pay the commercial interest rates charged by the development organisations.

The ultra poor generally only participate in programmes that are designed to prevent their poverty worsening and/or to give them a certain degree of food security. This could be achieved through food aid, food for work, some opportunities to participate in basic economic activities and other often charitable interventions. It is thus accepted by most NGOs and donors that the best that can be achieved for the ultra poor is food security.

Is food enough?

The constraints faced by the ultra poor if they are to get out of poverty are considerable.

• Farm land is not available and very expensive
• There is little rural employment other than labour
• Very little rural industry or even artisanal development
• They have no resources
• Illiteracy
• They are malnourished, often physically and mentally under developed and prone to accidents and ill health
• There are few support services
• They cannot afford health and education

Together, these seem formidable. But is it right to give up on them and simply try to keep them alive? Or should we look for new and innovative ways of breaking this vicious circle of poverty? The answer is clear. Strenuous efforts must be made to provide opportunities for the ultra poor to improve their livelihoods substantially. But how to address the constraints?

Good health and nutrition are really prerequisites for any kind of development. Malnourished and sick people are vulnerable so often prove unreliable workers so are not preferred for even manual work. Well designed food for work programmes can and do tackle this problem but they come and go so once they are over the participants often sink back into poverty.

Three potentially successful interventions.

1.       Better health and education – essential for empowerment

Good health stimulates the brain and facilitates learning. Clearly, combined with food for work activities there need to be programmes that provide the participants with the tools for taking future active roles in their own development.

Functional literacy must be one component of this approach. Not lip service, but proper training over at least two years to bring the scholars up to a standard where they can read and understand all documents etc. that can protect them against certain forms of exploitation.

A second component must be a health programme designed to tackle fundamental health problems as well as promote preventative health measures. This will include child vaccination, nutrition supplements, local health worker training, awareness raising etc. the impact will be quickly noticeable.

2.       Local market development – an opportunity

Interestingly enough, cross over the border into India and there is a very different economic picture at the village level. There is considerable economic diversification, all different sorts of cottage industries from soap making to food processing can be found. So even though there is also a shortage of land there are more opportunities and people seem more highly motivated.

In the Bangladeshi villages and rural towns it is clear that most of the products are imported. Children prefer to spend 5 times more on a packet of crisps wrapped in coloured paper rather than eat local snacks that are not packaged at all. So much of the economic activity takes place this way but need it? Are there opportunities to replace imports with local products? Clearly it is important to find out and then act on the results.

If, as suspected, there are opportunities for import substitution, then they should be acted upon. The way to do this would be to first carry out proper market research and then design a project to involve the ultra poor in the development of the products for the local markets either as employees or self employed. Develop opportunities for processing, packaging and marketing products for various markets. Open up new avenues for income generation. But always bear in mind that new opportunity development should not place the lives and livelihoods of the poorest at risk.

3.       Service sector development

In heavily populated areas there are always needs and opportunities to provide services. There are huge numbers of machines that need servicing, houses that needs plumbers, electricians, brick layers. The list could be endless.

There are also other skills, less obvious, that are needed. For instance people read and write letters for separated families or help with legal documentation. Small shops are needed as the rural economy develops. Transport needs increase.

It is not to say that any of the above will required. But, once again, well directed market research should be able to suggest areas where demand will grow. Then projects can be designed to train service providers and help them gain incomes through the provision of these services.

Finally

These are but three areas where well designed interventions are likely to succeed. PEGS and its partner organisations in Bangladesh are well placed to implement projects that successfully bring some of the poorest out of poverty.