Bangladesh is a land of immense potential and it has been reflected in forecasts made by international firms -- Goldman Sachs included our country in its list of emerging 11 countries, JP Morgan mentioned us in Frontier 5, and McKinsey forecasted a tripling of our export earnings in the RMG industry.
There is much to be optimistic about regarding Bangladesh’s future: An expanding economy with macroeconomic stability, 6% annual average GDP growth, robust performance of remittance and export, strong foreign currency reserve -- all strong arrows in the country’s quiver.
Bangladesh is envisioned to be a middle-income country by 2021 with the expectation that our people will be adequately fed, clothed and housed, and have access to healthcare. The RMG industry has also set a vision of reaching $50bn of RMG exports by 2021 which will help achieve the middle-income status within the stipulated time.
The demographic profile of Bangladesh’s population (around 76% of the people are below 40 years of age) can help Bangladesh achieve Vision 2021. According to the Labour Survey 2010, Bangladesh has 56.7 million economically active people (39.5 million male and 17.2 million female).
Moreover, around 2 million people are entering the labour market every year. So it is crystal clear that if we can turn our population into skilled human resource, we will be able to unlock our future potential.
However, around 9% of the total population in our country are disabled to some extent; and without integrating this huge population into our development efforts, our growth may not be meaningful in the long run.
Research shows that 80-90% of people with disability lead unemployed lives in developing countries even though they have adequate abilities to be employed. According to World Bank, we incur a loss of 5% of total GDP by excluding this large part of population.
It is unfortunate that in our society, many still consider people with disability a burden on them. But people with disability are not useless, rather, they are differently able. With a little cooperation, they can be an asset to our economy and society.
Despite numerous problems, the silver lining is that both public and private sectors are showing an increasing interest in persons with disabilities, and working hand-in-hand for their inclusion in mainstream economic development.
Our RMG sector has been playing a crucial role in making persons with disability self-reliant by creating employment for them. To assist people with disability, a number of RMG factories have come forward -- Keya Knit Composite Ltd, Fakhruddin Textile Mills Ltd, and Interstoff Apparels Ltd to name a few. Among them, Keya Knit Composite alone has employed more than 1,000 workers with disability.
BGMEA has also come forward in extending its cooperation to persons with disabilities. BGMEA, the Promotion of Social and Environmental Standards (PSES), a joint project of the government of Bangladesh and Germany, implemented by Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, and the Centre for the Rehabilitation of the Paralysed (CRP) joined hands to establish “Prosthetic and Orthotics School,” which is the first of its kind in Bangladesh. The school will provide support to people with disabilities.
The construction work of the school has been completed and two academic courses are currently running.
This institute will be equipped with training labs, library facilities and will be accessible to workers and people with disabilities. It will also provide job placements and consultations. As part of its long-term initiatives, BGMEA is collaborating with GIZ and CRP and providing financial support to this school.
However, an all-out effort from all quarters is a must to make real progress in this field. The persons with disabilities themselves, the organisations working in this field and all the advocacy platforms should come forward to raise awareness about recognition of the rights and privileges of persons with disabilities. Apart from the garment industry, we should also explore opportunities available for them in other sectors.