Speakers at a workshop said Wednesday that to eradicate poverty by 2021, Bangladesh will require lifting up to 1.0 million families out of extreme poverty every year.
They also urged the development partners to be with the country for achieving the goal and recommended them to arrange periodic follow-ups of their projects for sustaining the achievement.
The Programme Coordination Unit (PCU) of Food Security of Ultra Poor (FSUP) project organised the workshop to mark its formal closure at a city hotel.
The FSUP scheme was a five-year promotional safety net programme funded by the European Union (EU) to improve the livelihood and food security of 135,000 of the poorest and most vulnerable women in Bangladesh.
Organisers said, the programme - starting in 2009 - was formally closed on December 31, 2013. The main targets of the project were capacity development, establishment of means for income generation and ensuring household food security and enabling women to become self-reliant individuals.
The total cost of the programme was euro 43.5 million, of which EU contributed euro 36.5 million and the remaining was co-funded by the four partners -- World Food Programme (WFP), International Cocoa Organisation (ICCO), CARE (Cooperative for Assistance and Relief Everywhere), and Islamic Relief. The programme was implemented in 35 upazilas of eight districts.
Women and Children Affairs Ministry Secretary Tariq-ul-Islam addressed the workshop at the chief guest. He urged the development partners continue their ongoing assistance for the total eradication of poverty.
First Counsellor of EU delegation Philippe Jacques said the inclusion of four international implementation partners under a single safety net programme has provided a rich laboratory of learning about the best strategies and implementation modalities in safety nets and food security project.
He also said EU intends to carry out a post-evaluation of the FSUP programme in 2015.
Speaking at the workshop, PCU team leader Luqman Leckie expressed his satisfaction about the outcome of the programme.
"FSUP has been successful both in achieving its main aims and in providing valuable lessons regarding best practices in terms of strategies and modalities in the area of food security and nutrition," he said.
Speakers said Bangladesh has registered astonishing progress over the last 20 years in reducing the numbers of poor and increasing food production. Despite that, there are still many millions who remain extremely vulnerable and marginalised.
