The World Bank’s board of directors has approved $200m interest-free credit to improve livelihoods of about 5m poor people in the rural areas of Bangladesh, the bank said in a statement yesterday.
The credit will be spent under a programme styled Nuton Jibon Livelihood Improvement Project (NJLIP) that will benefit the rural poor in the poorest Upazilas in 21 districts, building on the activities supported by the predecessor Social Investment Program Project.
The project will empower rural communities by providing support for livelihoods and access to market through business partnerships. The project will also offer funding for small rural infrastructures.
The project will mobilise the poor and extreme poor people, who often remain left out from micro credit schemes, by building and strengthening community institutions including Nuton Jibon Community Societies - second generation institutions.
Further, the project will raise nutrition awareness, share agricultural knowledge and continue focusing on creating youth employment opportunities.
“Bangladesh has made remarkable progress in reducing poverty. Sixteen million people came out of poverty in the last decade. Still poverty remains a daunting development challenge, with around 47m poor people – most of whom live in rural area,” said Johannes Zutt, WB country director for Bangladesh.
“The Nuton Jibon Livelihood Improvement Project will consolidate and
scale-up the activities of its predecessor programs to improve livelihoods, quality of lives and resilience of the poorest and vulnerable households.”
The project will promote a community-driven approach that will allow beneficiaries to collectively identify, prioritise, plan, and implement their development needs.
The project will cover around 2,500 new villages in 12 districts in addition to the around 3,200 villages supported under the Social Investment Program Project-II.
“We have seen that when poor people, and particularly women, are given the chance, they successfully prioritise needs, manage resources and engage in livelihood activities that help them to transform their lives,” said Frauke Jungbluth, the WB task team leader for the NJLIP.
The project builds on the success and lessons of the Social Investment Program Project that started as a small-scale pilot in two of the poorest districts of the country in 2003 and gradually expanded to 14 more districts.
The credits are provided by the International Development Association, the Bank’s concessional lending arm, with 38 years to maturity, a six-year grace period, and a service charge of 0.75%.
