Good governance essential for eradicating poverty

Former finance minister AMA Muhith has identified issues related to "good governance" as major obstacles to eliminate poverty by 2041 based on the target set by the government.

"To eradicate poverty from Bangladesh, we must have good governance" he said as the chief guest at a seminar organised by the Palli Karma Sahayak Foundation (PKSF) as a part of the Development Fair in Dhaka on Thursday.

At the event, Muhith said that no country has been able to reduce poverty to zero level.  Many upper middle-income and even developed countries have a five to seven percent poverty rate, and Bangladesh is on track to achieve this landmark.

Bangladesh can achieve the highest growth in this fiscal year followed by China, Japan, India and other countries, and will maintain this growth for the next six years.

"Bangladesh can achieve stable growth maintaining 8.5 percent growth on average for the next few years, and it may even reach 10 percent," said the former finance minister.

He also expressed confidence about achieving the major Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2025, five years earlier than previous deadline of 2030.

Muhith emphasised the need to create effective demands for goods and services for further development.

The organisers of the event said, the Palli Karma Sahayak Foundation provides various socio-economic services to 59 lakh poor people from 12.61 lakh households through its programme titled "Enhancing Resources and Increasing Capacities of Poor Households towards Elimination of their Poverty (ENRICH)."

Mohammad Jasim Uddin, the deputy managing director of PKSF presented the main article titled "Establishing Human Dignity through ENRICH Program of PKSF" at the event. 

Dr Asif Mohammad Shahan, assistant professor of Development Studies at Dhaka University presented another paper on the ENRICH programme.

According to the paper, the foundation employs 376 diploma health officers, 2624 health visitors, and provides health support for 59 lakh people. By setting up 15,000 satellite clinics, the programme provides treatment to 40,000 patients every month.

The programme provides quality primary education to 1,75,349 students through 6,616 education assistance centers, said the speakers at the event.

The ENRICH programme also provides up to Tk10 lakh as loan to poor people to create entrepreneurs, and provides Tk1 lakh per head as grants for 1,322 beggars. 

As the main speaker at the event, MA Baki Khalili, former professor of the University of Dhaka, appreciated the ENRICH programme and expressed hope that the programme will develop and enrich society.

Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of Bangladesh, Mohammad Muslim Chowdhury said as a special guest that the enrichment program was a huge task, and its success is awe-inspiring. He recommended further strengthening of the support agencies.

Dr Qazi Kholiquzzaman Ahmad, chairman of PKSF, highlighted various aspects and variations of the programme.

He also said the programme has helped 59 lakh people to do various activities to eradicate poverty.