Removing poverty through socio-economic understanding

Muhammad Zamir | Published: June 15, 2024 19:45:01

The recent past has witnessed important revelations for Bangladesh. They relate to our surge in economic growth and its engagement with poverty reduction. Our participation in the dynamics in international relations has also demonstrated that Bangladesh is no longer considered as "an international basket case" as described by Henry Kissinger immediately after our independence.
We have emerged out of that darkness. We have made significant progress in all areas -- social, economic, education, health and culture, as reflected in the fulfillment of our MDG goals.
The Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) had announced almost nine years ago that our economy had expanded by more than 7 per cent. It was clarified that in fiscal 2015-16, GDP had grown by 7.11 per cent. This was a significant step forward when compared with past performances over the previous six years from that time.
Since then, despite the Covid pandemic and the Ukraine war, Bangladesh has managed to find ways to overcome factors that have posed socio-economic challenges. It is true that while there has been steady progress in creating required infrastructures, lack of transparency in the undertaking of commercial and economic transactions have not been able to, at times, create accountability. This has facilitated corruption in some sub-sectors.
Nevertheless, some financial analysts have pointed out that this increase in socio-economic recovery and poverty eradication has been possible because of certain factors- (a) increase in growth in wages in the service sector, especially in public administration, education and health and (b) growth in large-scale manufacturing, construction and transport.
It would also be important to mention here that the BBS disclosures indicated another significant aspect. During 2015-16, overall imports for the industrial sector grew about 6.5 per cent in US dollar terms, mainly due to import of capital machinery required for power plants, construction of the Padma bridge, flyovers and expansion of industrial units, especially in the garment and textile sector.
Economists have opined that relative political stability and a decline in the prices of different types of capital machineries in international markets also appear to have encouraged entrepreneurs to involve themselves in new ventures and in expanding the paradigm of their existing businesses.
Bangladesh today, despite scepticism from some economists, regarding purchasing power parity (PPP), now stands 33rd among the world economies.
There have also been revealing reports that are related to the Global Hunger Index (GHI). It appears that there has been a marginal improvement and in certain dimensions we are ahead of India, Pakistan and Afghanistan. It may be pointed out here that the GHI score is based on measures of undernourishment, the prevalence of stunting among children and the prevailing child mortality rate. It is clear that we have started to ascend the ladder but our efforts need to be not only more coordinated but more inter-active at the grass roots level, particularly within our Rangpur Division.
It needs to be understood that poverty is a multifaceted concept, which includes social, economic, and political elements. Poverty may be defined as either absolute or relative. Absolute poverty or destitution refers to the lack of means necessary to meet basic needs such as food, clothing and shelter. Relative poverty takes into consideration individual social and economic status compared to the rest of society.
Fundamentally, poverty is the inability of having choices and opportunities, a violation of human dignity. It means a lack of basic capacity to participate effectively in society. It means not having enough to feed and clothe a family, not having a school or clinic to go to, not having the land on which to grow one's food or a job to earn one's living, not having access to credit. It means insecurity, powerlessness and exclusion of individuals, households and communities. It means susceptibility to violence, and it often implies living in marginal or fragile environments without access to clean water or sanitation. Poverty also encompasses low levels of health and education, poor access to clean water and sanitation, inadequate physical security, lack of voice, and insufficient capacity and opportunity to better one's life.
Absolute poverty, extreme poverty, or abject poverty is "a condition characterised by severe deprivation of basic human needs, including safe drinking water, sanitation facilities, health, shelter, education and information. It depends not only on income but also on access to services." The term 'absolute poverty', when used in this fashion, is usually synonymous with 'extreme poverty': Robert McNamara, the former president of the World Bank, described absolute or extreme poverty as "a condition so limited by malnutrition, illiteracy, disease, squalid surroundings, high infant mortality, and low life expectancy as to be beneath any reasonable definition of human decency."
Poverty may also be understood as an aspect of unequal social status and inequitable social relationships, experienced as social exclusion, dependency, and diminished capacity to participate, or to develop meaningful connections with other people in society. Such social exclusion can, however, be minimised through strengthened connections with the mainstream, such as through the provision of relational care to those who are experiencing poverty. Poverty can also be reduced if an improved economic policy is developed by the governing authorities to facilitate a more equitable distribution of the nation's wealth.
Bangladesh, comparatively, has undertaken several initiatives to reduce the manifestation of poverty. In this context it has also addressed the issue from the point of the rural and urban divide.
The World Bank, the Asian Development Bank and the International Monetary Fund have all been carefully monitoring the economic activities of Bangladesh and have also been suggesting how to overcome existing challenges in the financial sector. Very correctly they are reiterating that Bangladesh has to be careful and bring forth accountability for reduction of poverty. It has been stressed that this will then enable Bangladesh to reach the goal of becoming a middle-income country and also be free of extreme poverty by 2030. It has also been underlined that Bangladesh, to sustain its economic growth needs to also focus on developing energy and transport infrastructure, improve the quality of healthcare, education and governance and also strengthen anti-corruption measures.
According to these institutions, this would improve the investment climate. It has also been reiterated that investment in people is as significant as investment in infrastructure. In this context, attention has also been drawn to the fact that Bangladesh was vulnerable to natural disasters and was also having to overcome the challenges of climate variability through adaptation and mitigation.
The international institutions in this matrix need to take serious note of the weaponisation spree of some developed countries. They need to be pointed out that inadequate funding of adaptation and mitigation measures for climate vulnerable countries like Bangladesh does not help to reduce poverty and bring about socio-economic development.
In this regard, correct assistance for these formats needed to be addressed to overcome the poverty trap. Such advice was obviously pertinent for us.
Yes, the news of our economic growth since FY 16 has been particularly welcome. In this context we greatly appreciate the efforts undertaken by China and Japan in providing Bangladesh with financial assistance for the projects agreed upon with the two countries.
To these can be added our upgraded OECD ranking, our record remittance earnings, our efforts to keep inflation relatively under control, our surge in export earnings, our decline in dependence ratio, our successes in human development, our augmenting of social protection-- through better education facilities, gender empowerment and healthcare opportunities.
However, our focus needs to be also on food security and lifting the quality of life of the poorest of the poor from the many Upazilas in our rural areas (Bhurungamari, Char Rajibpur, Chilmari, Phulbari, Rajarhat, Ulipur, Bakerganj, Hizla, Mehendiganj, Dewanganj-- to name a few from the Kurigram, Barisal, Chandpur and Jamalpur Districts) and also creating a greater balance by removing growing income inequality in our urban areas-- be it Dhaka or Chittagong.
If we can do that, we will definitely be able to meet our 2030 goal of eradicating poverty from Bangladesh.
Those involved in politics in Bangladesh also need to understand that this is a country where politicisation of efforts can only create obstacles towards the current efforts that are being taken to reduce poverty. We also must not forget that removal of poverty will also enhance our chances of gender equality and better movement forward for our youth population.
Muhammad Zamir, a former Ambassador,
is an analyst specialised in foreign affairs,
right to information and good governance.
muhammadzamir0@gmail.com