Dhaka needs $115b investment to achieve MDGs in seven years
FHM Humayan Kabir | Sunday, 15 March 2009
Bangladesh needs US$114.97 billion (Tk7864.02 billion) investment to achieve millennium development goals (MDGs) in seven years between 2009 and 2015, a study said.
The study, jointly carried out by the government and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), said it will require $16.42 billion (Tk 1123.43 billion) on an average investment per year to attain the goals by 2015, when the poverty rate would be cut by half from the existing 40 per cent.
To achieve the MDGs including eradication of extreme poverty and hunger, achievement of universal primary education, promotion of gender equality and women empowerment, and ensuring environmental sustainability,
Bangladesh has selected some sectors where it needs the investments. The sectors are: agriculture and rural development including employment generation, roads infrastructure, education, gender parity, heath systems including health infrastructure and human resources development, child and maternal health, HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis, environment, energy and water supply.
The MDGs are drawn from the actions and targets contained in the Millennium Declaration that was adopted by 189 nations and signed by 147 heads of state and governments during the UN Millennium Summit in September 2000.
The UNDP-Bangladesh study revealed that to achieve MDGs, the agriculture and rural development including employment generation alone would require highest $27.52 billion worth of fund in seven years upto 2015.
Besides, a total of $25.50 billion investment will be required only in energy sector to fulfill the MDG targets, particularly to bring down the poverty by half, said the study titled "MDGs: Need assessment and costing."
In Bangladesh, each of nearly 40 per cent of 14.5 million population still earns less than one dollar a day.
The government-UN joint study said: "Bangladesh has made good strides in reducing poverty and achieving MDG-1 during the year 2000 to 2005."
However, variations still exist between rural and urban areas and evidence also shows that there are very large regional disparities in virtually all of the MDG-1 indicators in the country, the report added.
"Barisal, Khulna and Rajshahi divisions have generally been lagging behind on several of the MDG-1 indicators as compared to other divisions and national averages," it said.
On average, rural areas did better than urban areas in reducing depth and severity of poverty implying pro-poor growth in rural areas, the joint study said.
Meanwhile, the government has adopted the donors' prescribed poverty reduction strategy paper (PRSP) to achieve the MDGs by the year 2015.
To this effect, it has formulated its first PRSP for three years period from FY2005 to FY2007, which was extended for another one year to FY2008.
After ending the first PRSP's tenure, the last caretaker government framed the second development strategy document for the financial year between 2009 and 2011.
The current PRSP has projected a fund requirement of total Tk3190.44 billion to implement development and poverty reduction programmes during FY2009-FY2011.
A senior planning commission official said the government needed to augment its investment and should encourage public-private partnership for the country's development in a bid to achieve the MDGs.
According to the report, some Tk 1123.43 billion investment on an average per year during 2009 to 2015 will be required while the government spends only about Tk200 billion to Tk250 billion on its annual development.
The study, jointly carried out by the government and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), said it will require $16.42 billion (Tk 1123.43 billion) on an average investment per year to attain the goals by 2015, when the poverty rate would be cut by half from the existing 40 per cent.
To achieve the MDGs including eradication of extreme poverty and hunger, achievement of universal primary education, promotion of gender equality and women empowerment, and ensuring environmental sustainability,
Bangladesh has selected some sectors where it needs the investments. The sectors are: agriculture and rural development including employment generation, roads infrastructure, education, gender parity, heath systems including health infrastructure and human resources development, child and maternal health, HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis, environment, energy and water supply.
The MDGs are drawn from the actions and targets contained in the Millennium Declaration that was adopted by 189 nations and signed by 147 heads of state and governments during the UN Millennium Summit in September 2000.
The UNDP-Bangladesh study revealed that to achieve MDGs, the agriculture and rural development including employment generation alone would require highest $27.52 billion worth of fund in seven years upto 2015.
Besides, a total of $25.50 billion investment will be required only in energy sector to fulfill the MDG targets, particularly to bring down the poverty by half, said the study titled "MDGs: Need assessment and costing."
In Bangladesh, each of nearly 40 per cent of 14.5 million population still earns less than one dollar a day.
The government-UN joint study said: "Bangladesh has made good strides in reducing poverty and achieving MDG-1 during the year 2000 to 2005."
However, variations still exist between rural and urban areas and evidence also shows that there are very large regional disparities in virtually all of the MDG-1 indicators in the country, the report added.
"Barisal, Khulna and Rajshahi divisions have generally been lagging behind on several of the MDG-1 indicators as compared to other divisions and national averages," it said.
On average, rural areas did better than urban areas in reducing depth and severity of poverty implying pro-poor growth in rural areas, the joint study said.
Meanwhile, the government has adopted the donors' prescribed poverty reduction strategy paper (PRSP) to achieve the MDGs by the year 2015.
To this effect, it has formulated its first PRSP for three years period from FY2005 to FY2007, which was extended for another one year to FY2008.
After ending the first PRSP's tenure, the last caretaker government framed the second development strategy document for the financial year between 2009 and 2011.
The current PRSP has projected a fund requirement of total Tk3190.44 billion to implement development and poverty reduction programmes during FY2009-FY2011.
A senior planning commission official said the government needed to augment its investment and should encourage public-private partnership for the country's development in a bid to achieve the MDGs.
According to the report, some Tk 1123.43 billion investment on an average per year during 2009 to 2015 will be required while the government spends only about Tk200 billion to Tk250 billion on its annual development.