One of the defining moments for a lot of the NGOs in Bangladesh recently was an event where the NGO bureau based at the Prime Minister’s Office officially thanked about 500 NGOs operating to achieve the MDG goals in Bangladesh along with the government.
This was a watershed moment because, for many years, the distrust between these two sectors was deep. But now it was official – the public and the social sector were officially recognising their complementary role in achieving dramatic success in improving some remarkable social indicators.
More girls than boys are going to school with over 90% enrolment in primary education. From maternal mortality to neo-natal health, the improvement has been staggering, ahead of other countries in south Asia and already meeting the MDG targets three years early.
Forty years ago, Bangladesh was termed a basket case. Few would have believed then the progress achieved could have been made in such a short time. Hans Rosling refers to the improvements in health, such as maternal mortality as nothing short of a “miracle.”
As Myanmar opens up to the world, opportunities to rapidly transform quality of life, economic markets are in plentiful. But growth is truly meaningful when it has been able to touch the lives of all including the most disenfranchised. Is Myanmar ready to embrace such inclusive growth? If so, what lessons can its neighbour Bangladesh share with them?
Complex issues, like poverty or inclusive development, require comprehensive approaches. In poor countries, it’s not feasible to wait for essential services from the government or jobs from the private sector. At the same time, though, development can never be achieved by the citizen sector alone. Real, sustainable development is achieved only when the public, private and citizen sectors collaborate and work together.
Now working in 12 countries, including our soon-to-be established operations in Myanmar, I believe that there are some common principles to development that transcend borders. Based on this experience, there are three insights I’d like to share.
Empower the disempowered
One defining characteristic of poverty is powerlessness — both as a cause, and a consequence. Combating social inequality, which poses a threat to democracy and prosperity, requires deliberate efforts to disrupt existing power structures.
At BRAC, where I work, we learned this the hard way. Our early programs worked with entire villages, but before long we saw that resources flowed disproportionately to the rich, and rarely reached the poor. Instead we needed to focus on the poor and marginalised, such as women and landless households, help them organise, and through mobilisation, regain power themselves.
The group creates a platform for collective action, problem solving and support. It also creates a mechanism for self-determination. Our 12,000 community groups across Bangladesh take on a number of their own initiatives, from developing lists of local blood donors to prevent mothers dying during childbirth to preventing early marriage.
Mobilisation is essential, but on its own is insufficient. People need education, skills, and opportunities. Job markets often exclude the poor, but they don’t have to. But industries can be established to generate both profits and jobs for marginalised populations.
In many countries, youth are struggling to enter saturated job markets, fostering an environment for violence, risky behaviour, and political disenchantment. Preventing this situation requires policies to foster inclusiveness. Fair trade and social enterprise retail, for example, creates tens of thousands of jobs for rural artisans, especially women, living in economically depressed areas.
Increasingly, women are moving into the industries traditionally dominated by men — driving, mechanics, and electronic repair.
Go with others
There is a common African proverb: “To go fast, go alone. To go far, go with others.” National development is not a sprint. It is a never-ending process, requiring a constellation of institutions that together create a vibrant economic and social institution.
One of the obvious successes of Bangladesh is that degree to which the government has invited non-governmental organisations into the realisation of its strategies.
One of the best examples of the power of the partnership is the National Tuberculosis Programme, which now includes over 40 NGO and private companies all working under the leadership of the government’s program to control tuberculosis nationally.
Policies and targets are set centrally, and partners are given specific instructions on where they should deliver health services. Bangladesh’s achievements in education are a similar story of public sector leadership and engagement of civil society. The government encourages private secondary schools and pays the salaries of thousands of teachers in accredited schools.
It developed a national curriculum and administers the national exam. Yet there are almost no secondary schools operated by the government itself. Instead, it’s focused on creating an effective architecture to empower diverse implementers to contribute to a coherent national vision – leaving NGOs and community to fill in the gaps not covered by governmental programmes.
Be bold and ambitious
Too often, people underestimate what they can do. At the organisation I work for, we often say:“Small is beautiful, but large is necessary.” Since as early as the 1980s, we started wondering, why can’t we run a national program? It’s amazing how a shift of mind set from perceived limitations to the magnitude and urgency of the situation can enable organisations to innovate and exceed even their wildest dreams of what was possible.
In the late 1970s, we capitalised on emerging research that death from diarrhoeal disease could be prevented by a homemade solution of water, salt, and sugar. Its pilot program showed that mothers could be taught to make the formula at home by community educators, opening up the possibility for a widespread education campaign. This plan flew in the face of the prevailing global health wisdom at the time — the World Health Organisation and others were advocating for pre-made packets, which was logistically infeasible for Bangladesh.
Experts approached the government and asked them to reject our plan for scaling up. Public officials reviewed the data of our pilot and held their ground, encouraging us to move forward. By 1990, we had reached close to 12m households. Use of oral rehydration solution remains relatively high in Bangladesh and mortality from diarrhoeal disease has fallen drastically.
Does one size fit all in the development context? Hardly. The approach requires adapting to the cultural context and local reality. With the Myanmar spring on the horizon, leaders of Myanmar can well realise the tremendous opportunity to get it right and realise the true potential of all people of Myanmar regardless of their race, religion and ethnicity.
The time is now because we live in an era of enormous potential. Emerging technologies, increasing global collaborations and commitment to reducing poverty has created new opportunities with optimism and a hunger for better solutions.
A long-term vision of its leaders and political willingness to be inclusive and to collaborate to implement a bold and ambitious agenda for the future are perhaps the magic ingredients for an evergreen spring for Myanmar.
