Bangladesh

Overview

Bangladesh is one of the world's most densely populated countries. With more than 164 million individuals (2010) in a country about twice the size of New Brunswick, the resulting population pressures are huge. If you are living in Bangladesh, you are likely to be poor and very vulnerable to natural disasters. You may also be part of the rapidly expanding youth segment of the population-some 45 percent of the population is under the age of 15. Bangladesh ranks 146 out of 187 countries on the United Nations Development Programme's 2011 human development index.

Natural disasters such as cyclones and severe flooding occur with regular frequency, causing damage, disease, and loss of food crops.

Yet during the last 12 years, Bangladesh has made important development gains. Both population growth and the incidence of poverty have steadily declined, and gross domestic product growth rate has averaged 6 percent per year. The proportion of the population living below the national poverty line has fallen to 40 percent in 2005 from 59 percent in 1991. Considerable progress has been made toward achieving the Millennium Development Goals, notably in health and education. Successful and peaceful elections were held in December 2008.

Bangladesh's many development challenges include:

• Poor quality health and education services, with unequal access to those services by the poor, especially by women
• Weak public sector institutions inhibiting economic advancement and prosperity
• Environmental difficulties due to the impact of global climate change and increasing population density

Thematic Focus

In 2009, as part of Canada's new aid effectiveness agenda, Bangladesh was selected as a country of focus.

Bangladesh was chosen based on its level of need and its ability to use aid dollars wisely and on Canada's capacity to make a difference. Bangladesh has been one of Canada's largest aid recipients for the last three decades.

The objective of CIDA's program for Bangladesh is to create opportunities for children and youth and to stimulate sustainable economic growth. Equality between women and men, environmental sustainability, and good governance will be integrated into all programming. Continuous dialogue and consultation among development partners (government, non-government, and donors) will guide investment choices.

CIDA's program in Bangladesh is directly aligned with the Government of Bangladesh's National Strategy for Accelerated Poverty Reduction for 2009-2011 (PDF, 4.83 MB, 306 pages) and will strengthen the capacity of both national and local governments to plan, manage, and monitor health and education delivery systems and to promote sustainable economic growth.

Children and youth

In education, CIDA focuses on:

• Improving the quality and delivery of education
• Increasing access and retention rates in primary schools
• Reducing gaps between girls and boys

In health, CIDA focuses on:

• Ensuring that healthcare and medicines are delivered efficiently
• Improving maternal and child health delivery systems
• Providing essential drugs and medicines

Economic growth

CIDA focuses on strengthening the enabling environment for the growth of employment-intensive industries and for the promotion of international trade. This includes:

• Increasing access to skills for employment, particularly for youth
• Streamlining legal, fiscal, and regulatory frameworks for business development
• Improving public financial management

Progress on Aid Effectiveness

A joint cooperation strategy, signed in June 2010, has been developed to further coordinate efforts, harmonize approaches, and work toward a more strategic division of labour between donors and the Government of Bangladesh.

CIDA's bilateral program has shifted toward fewer, larger projects responding to Bangladesh's needs. Canada is an active participant in both of Bangladesh's sector-wide approaches for primary education and health, which are making tangible progress.

Accomplishments 2009-2010

Children and youth

• Helped 17,000 newly recruited teachers complete their certificate in education degree and helped more than 2.6 million children (60 percent girls) complete the pre-primary program.
• Helped purchase $1.5 million in vaccines, primary health care, and emergency drugs.
• Helped provide polio vaccinations for 69,000 children under the age of one, thereby preventing an estimated 3,450 deaths.

Economic Growth

• Helped in the formation of 4,542 village poverty reduction committees, resulting in the repair of 2,558 houses, the installation of 36 tube wells for safe drinking water, the construction of 533 sanitary latrines, the enrolment of 101 children in school, the birth registration of 3,014 children, and the provision of medical services to 1,182 people.
• Helped 4,048 poor households increase their income by providing such assets as cows, goats, and chickens.

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