Over the last ten years, Bangladesh has achieved remarkable success in poverty alleviation, thanks to the relentless efforts of the present government for prioritising poverty reduction in its development agenda. Recently, Bangladesh has set an ambitious target to alleviate extreme poverty to 2.3 percent by 2031 and moderate poverty to below 3 percent by 2041. In order to chase this target within the stipulated time, necessary initiatives should be taken to address some key issues such as climate change, natural disasters and weak rural infrastructure which have long been deterring our efforts towards eradicating poverty.
Necessary steps should be taken to
involve the poor in income-oriented jobs
The remarkable development that the country has gained over the last ten years has instilled the confidence into people that becoming a developed nation is very much possible. Gone were the days when poverty and Bangladesh were synonymous for many years to the international community. The scenario has changed and Bangladesh's efforts to eradicate poverty are now very well recognised and admired throughout the world.
However, the global health crisis caused by Covid- 19 has hit Bangladesh's economy hard and jeopardised the country's impressive achievements in poverty reduction. It is envisaged that more than three million will become extremely poor in Bangladesh due to impact of Covid-19. Therefore, the government will have to take necessary steps to support them in the coming days and involve them in income-oriented jobs.
Though we have achieved enviable success in poverty alleviation, the rate of poverty reduction is not adequate compared to the country’s striking growth rate. Also, the rich-poor divide has been growing remarkably in Bangladesh. Hence, the government should give more priority to inclusive and micro-level development than economic growth. In order to make our economic growth more inclusive, the government must take initiatives for enhancing poor people's participation in economic activities.
