Official Development Assistance (ODA) from development partners fell 44% short of what annually required for attaining the higher growth and millennium development goals (MDGs).
The country has received US$1.68bn ODA against the annual requirement of $3bn for attaining the higher growth, according to the General Economic Division of the Planning Commission.
Bangladesh needs $78.2bn to achieve all the indicators of MDGs (2011-15). The country required to invest $5bn from its own resources and $3bn in foreign assistances to attain general growth and higher growth annually, it said.
“Resource requirement is one of thee impediments to achieving MDGs in Bangladesh,” GED member Shamsul Alam said in a presentation on MDG progress report 2013.
Echoing with him, UNDP Country Director Pauline Tamesis said resource mobilisation from the government and the development partners are also important.
Internationally, eight major MDGs were identified and individual countries had set some specific targets to achieve them by 2015. Bangladesh is one of the signatories to the MDG charter.
MDGs included: eradicate extreme poverty and hunger; achieve universal primary education; gender equality and women empowerment; reduce child mortality; improve maternal health; combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases; ensure environmental sustainability and develop a global partnership for development.
Bangladesh had adopted 21 targets and 60 indicators against which progress was measured. However, the report said data against only 33 indicators was available.
According to the report, of the total 33 indicators, progress on 11 indicators is lagging behind, on track for 10 while targets against 12 indicators have been met.
During the last two decades and more, Bangladesh on an average got $1.7bn ODA per year. The disbursed ODA as a proportion of the country’s GDP has declined from 5.59% in fiscal year (FY) 1990-91 to 1.87% in FY 2012-13, implying yearly average of 2.62%.
During the same period, per capital ODA disbursement saw fluctuating figures ranging between $18.29 and $7.64, meaning yearly average of $12.7 from FY1990-91 to FY2012-13. On yearly average, Bangladesh got $633m as grants and $1,045m as loans.
Out of 34-member states of the OECD, only eight countries provided $624.9m ODA to Bangladesh in FY2012-13. The amount was about 22.23% of the total ODA received by Bangladesh during the period.
The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) is an international economic organisation founded in 1961 to stimulate economic progress and world trade.
Most OECD members are high-income economies with a very high Human Development Index and are regarded as developed countries.
Out of the eight countries – Cabana, Denmark, Germany, Japan, Nether Lands, Sweden, UK and South Korea – provided ODA to Bangladesh in FY 2012-13. Only three countries – Sweden, Denmark and UK – are complying with their commitment to provide more than 0.7% of their GNI as ODA to the developing countries.
In absolute terms, Japan was the highest provider of ODA amounting to $348.5m followed by the UK ($109m) and Germany ($68.7m).
Out of total $32.6bn ODA disbursement from 190-91 to 2012-13 in Bangladesh, public administration got highest 17.38%, followed by power 15.09%, transport 13.16%, education and religious affairs 11.59%, health, population and family welfare 10.1%, physical, planning, water supply and housing 7.78%, water resources 6.4% and agriculture 4.32%, according the GED data.