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Helping ultra-poor people sustainably move out of poverty in Bangladesh

The poorest people are often caught in a poverty trap from which it is difficult to escape, even with the help of existing development programmes, including microfinance. A recent initiative in Bangladesh suggests it is possible to create grant-based approaches to suit extremely poor households.

A report from the BRAC in Bangladesh describes an innovative approach to help the poorest households move out of poverty. The authors focus on ‘ultra-poor’ people, defined as the bottom 10 percent who always or usually live below a poverty line (normally a measure of consumption or income).

Ultra-poverty tends to be chronic and passed down from generation to generation. In South Asia, it affects women-headed households disproportionately. Ultra-poor people often rely on informal charities for survival and have weak social connections, causing them to be left out of development programmes. There is a general lack of urgency in tackling ultra-poverty, partly because it is easier to help moderately poor people out of poverty.

The dominant approach that targets ultra-poor people has been food transfers. Though vital, this only provides short-term security. In 1985, BRAC approached the World Food Programme to join its Vulnerable Group Feeding (VGF) programme in Bangladesh. The pilot was eventually expanded into the Income Generation for Vulnerable Group Development (IGVGD) programme combining food grants, training and microcredit. Over 2.2 million households had participated by 2006.

Challenges included coordinating multiple partners, opposition from locally elected representatives and a tendency by many to perceive IGVGD as short-term relief rather than a chance to escape poverty permanently. The experience led BRAC to develop the Challenging the Frontiers of Poverty Reduction (CFPR) approach. This relies less on up-front inputs and activities and more on a sequential model of graduation from poverty, consisting of:

the selection of ultra-poor people, using indicators to both include and exclude households (to avoid programme overlaps) and extensive consultations
enterprise selection, training and asset transfer following consultations with beneficiaries to decide on the right mix of activities, such as poultry-rearing or vegetable cultivation
stipends as short-term income support to boost the incentive of participants to spend more time and effort on the assets transferred to them
the provision of health care
social mobilisation to encourage participation, including of local elites to maintain and strengthen systems of social support for the poorest households.

Evaluation of the CFPR approach from 2002 to 2005 found:

The targeting method was effective in reaching the poorest individuals.
Targeted households living on less than one US dollar a day declined from 89 percent to 59 percent (compared to a net decline of only 13 percent in non-targeted ultra-poor households).
Beneficiaries reporting chronic food shortages declined from 60 percent to below 15 percent and calorie intake improved significantly.
Diets improved, with more consumption of vegetables, eggs, meat and fish.
Self-perception of poverty and ill health declined - over 69 percent of beneficiaries felt their economic status had improved significantly.

Building self-reliance amongst beneficiaries and a compassionate, committed work force were key to this success.

Source(s):
‘Crafting a Graduation Pathway for the Ultra Poor: Lessons and Evidence from a BRAC Programme’, Chronic Poverty Research Centre Working Paper 109, CPRC: Manchester, by Imran Batin, Munshi Sulaiman and Mehnaz Rabbani, 2008 (PDF) Full document.
Further details about this research project on the Research for Development Portal Full document.

Funded by: CFPR is funded by a donor consortium consisting of DFID, CIDA, EC and AusAid

id21 Research Highlight: 2 November 2008

Further Information:
Imran Matin
Research and Evaluation Division (RED)
BRAC
75 Mohakhali
Dhaka 1212, Bangladesh

Tel: +880 2 9881265-72
Fax: +880 2 8823542
Contact the contributor: imran.m@brac.net

Research and Evaluation Division (RED), BRAC, Dhaka, Bangladesh

Chronic Poverty Research Centre
Institute for Development Policy and Management
School of Environment and Development
University of Manchester
Humanities Bridgeford Street
Manchester M13 9PL
UK

Tel: +44 161 275 2810
Fax: +44 161 273 8829
Contact the contributor: cprc@manchester.ac.uk

Chronic Poverty Research Centre, Institute for Development Policy and Management, University of Manchester, UK

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