Real Time Monitoring for the Most Vulnerable: Pre-Primary Education in Bangladesh

One of the most unique examples of real?time monitoring supported by UNICEF is found in Bangladesh in the pre?primary education (PPE) programme operated by BRAC. Randomisation techniques are used for school selection by monitors as well as for intra?classroom sampling to test learning outcomes. Monitoring is a multi?level decentralised learning process that allows staff members to compare actual performance, outputs and results against standards. Monitoring duties are executed by the programme staff themselves as well as by the organisation. The intent is to promote internal programme learning, not just logical framework type reporting, and builds on the recognition that monitoring is only effective if it enables responses to programme implementation. The BRAC initiative demonstrates that monitoring with a real?time component can be central to a strategy emphasising learning outcomes. It also shows that ICTs are not a necessary ingredient of ‘real?time’ monitoring despite the current fashion in thinking

Theory and practice – a case study of coordination and ownership in the Bangladesh health SWAp

BACKGROUND: In the past decade the sector-wide approach (SWAp) model has been promoted by donors and adopted by governments in several countries. The purpose of this study is to look at how partners involved in the health SWAp in Bangladesh define ownership and coordination, in their daily work and to analyse the possible implications of these definitions. METHODOLOGY: The study object was a process of decision-making in the Government of Bangladesh in 2003. Information was collected through participant observations, interviews and document review. RESULTS: During the study period the Government of Bangladesh decided to reverse a decision to unify the two wings of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. The decision led to disagreements with development partners, which had serious implications for cooperation between key actors in the Bangladesh health sector leading to deteriorated relationships and suspension of donor funds. The donor community in itself was also in disagreement which led to inconsistencies in the dialogue between the development partners and the Government of Bangladesh. CONCLUSION: The case shows that main actors in the Bangladesh health SWAp interpret ownership and coordination, fundamental aspects of SWAp, differently. As long as work ran smoothly, the different definitions did not create any problems, but when disagreements arose they became an obstacle. It is concluded that partners in development should devote more effort to their working relationships and that responsibilities within a SWAp need to be more clearly delineated

Class Formation and ‘Antediluvian’ Capital in Bangladesh

SUMMARY Bangladesh has been erroneously attributed a homogeneous agrarian structure by unwarranted extrapolation from surveys made in Comilla district. Data from the 1940s suggests greater differentiation in the North and West. This was compounded by the control of East Bengal by West Pakistan which resulted in a counter?productive drain of the rural surplus, so restricting capital to the ‘antediluvian’ forms used in moneylending, trade or land leasing, rather than capital used in productive agriculture. The development of the petty bourgeoisie and landlords was thereby restricted and the emergence of an East Bengali bourgeoisie prevented. RESUME Formation de classes et capital “antédiluvien” au Bangladesh On a, à tort, établi une structure agraire homogène au Bangladesh en extrapolant sans raison à partir d enquêtes menées dans la région de Comilla. Des données datant des années 40 suggèrent une différenciation plus marquée entre le Nord et l'Ouest. C'était le résultat du contrôle du Bengale oriental par le Pakistan occidental imposant drainage contre?productif des surplus ruraux, limitant ainsi l'utilisation de capitaux aux formes “antédiluviennes” des prêts de fonds, du commerce et des baux à ferme, plutôt que l'investissement dans une agriculture productrice. Le développement de la petite bourgeoisie et de propriétaires fut ainsi limitée et la formation d'une bourgeoisie dans le Bengale oriental entravée. RESUMEN Formación de Clases y Capital “Antidiluviano” en Bangladesh Erróneamente se ha atribuido a Bangladesh una estructura agraria homogénea por una extrapolación incorrecta de los estudios llevados a cabo en el distrito de Comilla. Datos obtenidos en la década de 1940 sugieren una mayor diferenciación en el norte y oeste. Esto fue complicado cuando el control de Bengala del Este pasó a Pakistan Occidental, que resultó en una pérdida contraproductiva de los excedentes rurales, restringiendo asi el capital disponible a las formas “antidiluvianas” de préstamo, comercio o alquiler de terrenos en lugar de capital para usar en la agricultura productiva. De esta forma se limitó la aparición de una pequeña burgesia y pequeños terratenientes, evitando que surgiera una burgesía en Bengala del Este

Exploring the feasibility of private micro flood-insurance provision in Bangladesh

This article was published in Disasters [ © 2011 The Author(s) ] and the definite version is available at: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-7717.2010.01218.xThis paper aims to contribute to the debate on the feasibility of the provision of micro flood insurance as an effective tool for spreading disaster risks in developing countries and examines the role of the institutional-organisational framework in assisting the design and implementation of such a micro flood insurance market. In Bangladesh, a private insurance market for property damage and livelihood risk due to natural disasters does not exist. Private insurance companies are reluctant to embark on an evidently unprofitable venture. Testing two different institutional-organisational models, this research reveals that the administration costs of micro-insurance play an important part in determining the long-term viability of micro flood insurance schemes. A government-facilitated process to overcome the differences observed in this study between the nonprofit micro-credit providers and profit-oriented private insurance companies is needed, building on the particular competence each party brings to the development of a viable micro flood insurance market through a public-private partnership.Publishe

Bans of WHO Class I Pesticides in Bangladesh –Suicide Prevention without Hampering Agricultural Output

Pesticide self-poisoning is a major problem in Bangladesh. Over the past 20-years, the Bangladesh government has introduced pesticide legislation and banned highly hazardous pesticides (HHPs) from agricultural use. We aimed to assess the impacts of pesticide bans on suicide and on agricultural production.We obtained data on unnatural deaths from the Statistics Division of Bangladesh Police, and used negative binomial regression to quantify changes in pesticide suicides and unnatural deaths following removal of WHO Class I toxicity HHPs from agriculture in 2000. We assessed contemporaneous trends in other risk factors, pesticide usage and agricultural production in Bangladesh from 1996 to 2014.Mortality in hospital from pesticide poisoning fell after the 2000 ban: 15.1% vs 9.5%, relative reduction 37.1% [95% confidence interval (CI) 35.4 to 38.8%]. The pesticide poisoning suicide rate fell from 6.3/100 000 in 1996 to 2.2/100 000 in 2014, a 65.1% (52.0 to 76.7%) decline. There was a modest simultaneous increase in hanging suicides [20.0% (8.4 to 36.9%) increase] but the overall incidence of unnatural deaths fell from 14.0/100 000 to 10.5/100 000 [25.0% (18.1 to 33.0%) decline]. There were 35 071 (95% CI 25 959 to 45 666) fewer pesticide suicides in 2001 to 2014 compared with the number predicted based on trends between 1996 to 2000. This reduction in rate of pesticide suicides occurred despite increased pesticide use and no change in admissions for pesticide poisoning, with no apparent influence on agricultural output.Strengthening pesticide regulation and banning WHO Class I toxicity HHPs in Bangladesh were associated with major reductions in deaths and hospital mortality, without any apparent effect on agricultural output. Our data indicate that removing HHPs from agriculture can rapidly reduce suicides without imposing substantial agricultural costs

National discourses on women's empowerment in Bangladesh : continuities and change

As Bangladesh turns 40, improvements in women’s wellbeing and increased agency are claimed to be some of the most significant gains in the post-independence era. Various economic and social development indicators show that in the last 20 years, Bangladesh, a poor, Muslim-majority country in the classic patriarchal belt, has made substantial progress in increasing women’s access to education and healthcare (including increasing lifeexpectancy), and in improving women’s participation in the labour force. The actors implementing such programmes and policies and claiming to promote women’s empowerment are numerous, and they occupy a significant position within national political traditions and development discourses. In the 1970s and 1980s development ideas around women’s empowerment in Bangladesh were influenced by an overtly instrumentalist logic within the international donor sphere. This led to the women’s empowerment agenda being perceived as a donor driven project, which overlooks how domestic actors such as political parties, women’s organisations and national NGOs have influenced thinking and action around it. This paper explores how these perceptions and narratives around women’s empowerment have evolved in Bangladesh from 2000 to date. It studies the concepts of women’s empowerment in public discourse and reviews the meanings and uses of the term by selected women’s organisations, donor agencies, political parties and development NGOs. By reviewing the publicly available documents of these organisations, the paper analyses the multiple discourses on women’s empowerment, showing the different concepts associated with it and how notions such as power, domains and processes of empowerment are understood by these actors. It also highlights how these different discourses have influenced each other and where they have diverged, with an emphasis on what these divergences mean in terms of advancing women’s interests in Bangladesh. Keywords: Bangladesh; women’s empowerment; NGOs; political parties; women’s movement; international aid agencies