Bangladesh

Canada's Commitment
Results
Country Profile

Canada's Commitment

Canada has been a major development partner with Bangladesh since its independence in 1971. Early development efforts involved reconstruction, and then moved into agriculture, management of water resources, and rural economic development.

The approach for CIDA and other donor partners is increasingly program-oriented. Bangladesh has been one of Canada's largest aid recipients for the last three decades.

CIDA's Country Development Programming Framework 2003-2008 for Bangladesh, which is grounded in the priorities identified in Bangladesh's Poverty Reduction Strategy, focuses on social development (health and education), governance, and private sector development. Major program objectives include:

• enhancing the quality of basic education: by supporting government and civil society initiatives to improve the access, quality, and relevance of formal and non-formal basic education, especially for disadvantaged groups;
• improving delivery of health services:by strengthening the capacity of the national health system, improving the quality and delivery of essential health care services, and increasing access to those services, especially for women and children;
• strengthening governance: by helping core public and private sector institutions build their technical and management competencies, focusing on enhancing their transparency and accountability, and by supporting democratization; and
• supporting development of the private sector by supporting the creation of an enabling environment, supporting sustainable and equitable growth, promoting entrepreneurship, and improving connecting to markets.

Governance, equality between women and men, and environmental sustainability are over-arching issues.

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Results

CIDA's assistance in water management, rural electrification, and agricultural diversification has helped Bangladesh achieve near self-sufficiency in rice production. Its support for poverty reduction has helped lift millions of poor rural women out of poverty. As well, work within a multi-donor health and population program has contributed to reducing the population growth rate and improving health. CIDA support to non-formal primary education has brought more than one million rural children, half of them girls, into primary education.

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Country Profile

With a population of 158.7 million, Bangladesh is the most populous of the world's least developed countries (LDCs). Due to its annual income per capita of US$480 (2006), it is also one of the poorest. However, over the last 12 years, Bangladesh has made important economic gains with a GDP growth rate averaging 5 percent a year. The incidence of poverty has steadily declined, and considerable progress has been made towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), notably in health and education.

Bangladesh is a parliamentary democracy based on universal suffrage. Its elections in 1991, 1996, and 2001 were highly competitive. The country is one of the largest contributors of peacekeepers for the United Nations. It has a vibrant civil society, probably the strongest non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in the world, a rapidly growing private sector, and an outspoken and free press. Governance remains mixed with pronounced areas of strength, but also with significant weaknesses. Among Bangladesh's challenges are: poor quality health and education services and unequal access to those services especially by the poor and women; continuing incidence of undernutrition in children, especially girls; and weak institutional capacity for the rule of law and protection of human rights. The country also faces environmental challenges due to population pressures, climate change, and arsenic contamination.

Bangladesh's Poverty Reduction Strategy, Unlocking the Potential: National Strategy for Accelerated Poverty Reduction, launched on October 30, 2005,focuses on pro-poor growth. It has the following eight-point strategic agenda:

• employment;
• nutrition;
• quality education, especially for girls;
• local governance;
• maternal health;
• sanitation and safe water; and
• criminal justice.

Bangladesh's progress in the last decade earned it a "medium human development" rating by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in 2003. Its achievements in economic growth, poverty reduction, and social development form a solid foundation for future progress.