 Over
the last 10 years Bangladesh has made impressive gains in key human
development indicators. In the 2004 UNDP Human Development Report,
Bangladesh ranked 138 among 177 countries with an HDI score of 0.509,
which places it among countries considered to have achieved medium human
development. This is the result of macroeconomic stability, low
population growth, increase in women’s empowerment, reduction in aid
dependence, food self-sufficiency, effective disaster management
capacity, promoting non-governmental organisations (NGOs), free and fair
parliamentary elections, a vibrant, pluralist, democratic civil society
marked by cultural activism and developmental debates, and an active and
free press.
Through the adoption and implementation of sound policies and
strategies, Bangladesh has managed to sustain a large measure of
economic stability and macroeconomic growth. Throughout the 1990s, the
economy grew by an average of 4.75 percent per year. Gross Domestic
Product (GDP) per capita has grown steadily from US$ 273 in 1990-91 to
US$ 441 (or $1400 in PPP). As a result, the Human Poverty Index for
Bangladesh fell from 61 in 1983 to 42.2, an achievement that was all the
more remarkable given that the pace of income poverty reduction was only
one percent point per year. Nonetheless 63 million people continue to
live below the poverty line. There has, however, been a steep decline in
the number of hardcore poor from 36.75 percent in 1983-83 to just under
twenty percent or approximately 30 million people. Despite these
significant achievements, much will need to be done to ensure the right
to survival and to achieve the MDG target of halving the proportion of
the poor, and the hungry and malnourished.
The UNDP Gender Development Index (GDI) for 2004 ranked Bangladesh 110
among 144 countries, an increase of 13 positions since 1999. This
improvement reflects a closing of the gap between men and women in key
indicators such as life expectancy. However, a GEM ranking of 76 shows
continued low levels of female representation in government, in
decision-making positions and in ownership of economic assets. A
significant gender disparity persists in both income and human poverty,
especially at the lower end of income distribution. The female
disadvantage in child mortality has remained persistent, while the
female-male gap in acute malnutrition has increased over the past
decade. On average the incidence of severe malnutrition among girls
under five is 2-4 percent higher than among boys. Similarly, compared to
male-headed households, female-headed households are more likely to be
living in extreme poverty. Overall, Bangladesh’s performance with regard
to achieving gender equality and women’s empowerment (MDG 4) remains
mixed. There has been a narrowing of the gender gap in most social MDG
indicators in general and in the education sector in particular, where,
as a result of targeted government policies, female enrolment rates in
primary and secondary schools exceeds those for males. However, in other
areas such as economic and political participation and adult literacy,
much still remains to be done to ensure the rights to survival,
livelihood and participation.
Significant investments in disaster preparedness, including the
development of early warning systems and the creation of a wide network
of flood and cyclone shelters, has seen a significant decrease in the
number of lives lost each year. However, natural disasters are still
responsible for significant property losses with major consequences for
the poor. There is therefore scope for continued improvement in terms of
disaster mitigation and recovery that is targeted to the most vulnerable
populations.
Bangladesh has made significant strides in lowering its population
growth rates. The current population is estimated at around 140 million.
While total fertility rates have been in decline over the last twenty
years, this decline appears to have plateaued though further research is
required to identify the exact causes. Since 1996 a gradual increase in
TFR among poorer households has been observed. A number of factors that
could explain this increase include low educational levels, continued
son preference, high infant mortality, weak implementation of gender
rights and the lack of alternative economic opportunities.
Infant mortality has declined steadily from 92 per thousand live births
in 1992 to 53 in 2002. Similarly, under-five mortality rate (U5MR) has
declined from 144 per thousand live births in 1990 to 76 in 2002. There
continue to be urban-rural differences in under-five mortality rates and
a small difference in mortality rates between boys and girls. In order
for Bangladesh to maintain progress towards meeting the child and infant
mortality goals laid out in the MDGs a number of trends need to be
sustained. This includes continuing to expand immunisation coverage to
reach marginalized and hard-to-reach population and consolidating and
strengthening efforts to control diarrhoeal diseases and acute
respiratory infections. Increased attention is also required to further
reduce neonatal mortality by ensuing that all pregnant mothers have
access to antenatal care, skilled birth attendants and to emergency
obstetric care. Maternal mortality remains very high at around 320 per
hundred thousand live births. Poor nutrition, poverty and a lack of
access to health services contribute to some 20,000 maternal deaths each
year.
Despite improvements in antenatal care, it will be a challenge to meet
the goal of reducing MMR to 140 by 2015 because of a number of
demographic trends. A third of Bangladesh’s population falls within the
age group of 10-24 years. Nearly half the adolescent girls (15-19 years)
are married, 57 percent become mothers before the age of 19, and half of
all adolescent mothers are acutely malnourished. Efforts to provide
adolescent girls with greater access to higher education through
scholarship and stipend programmes while proven to be effective, will
nonetheless take several years to have a meaningful impact on fertility
rates, and by extension, MMR rates.
Bangladesh’s success in increasing primary school enrolment has been one
of the most notable achievements of the last fifteen years and has
played an important role in raising the country’s HDR scores. The gross
enrolment rate in primary education in 2002 was 97 percent, though
enrolment rates in urban slums and the CHT remain significantly lower.
Bangladesh has more or less achieved gender parity in education at the
primary school level. Despite these positive developments, one in five
children are still not enrolled in school. Furthermore, while two thirds
of those enrolled complete the five-year primary school cycle, upwards
of 25 percent of children drop out before reaching the fifth grade
though this is a significant improvement over the 38 percent drop out
rate recorded in 1995. Under the most optimistic scenario of population
stabilization by 2035, Bangladesh will need some US$1.7 billion to
maintain current momentum and to achieve the MDG 2 by 2015. Thus,
without significantly increased investments in the education sector, it
is clear that ensuring the right to a secure livelihood will remain a
challenge.
The 1999-2000 Labour Force Survey estimates that of the 74.2 million
working age population (15 - 64 years), about 21.6 percent are employed
for wages and salaries, a two percent increase since the 1995-96 LFS.
However, while 33.9 percent of men work for wages, only 8.4 percent of
women receive some form of remuneration. There are an estimated 7.4
million working children out of which 3.2 million children are child
labourers. Twenty four percent of the working population is
self-employed. Unemployment rates in Bangladesh, estimated at 4.3
percent, are comparatively low due to pervasive under-employment and the
large number of people considered to be out of the labour force.
Unemployment rates are high among the youth, especially among young men
under the age of 30.
There has been a significant increase in the reports of violence across
Bangladesh. Accurate information regarding the nature and extent of
violence in the country remains scarce due to lack of data. There is,
however, an emerging “culture of violence” which is of rising concern.
Violence within the family remains the most under-reported crime in
Bangladesh. Cases of marital violence are routinely labelled as
“domestic disputes”, and as such do not merit assistance within
families, let alone police intervention. This reflects, among other
things, the existing patrimonial social structures that force woman into
passive acceptance of violence. According to government statistics, one
woman is subjected to violence every hour.
Though the Bangladesh Constitution is committed to the equality of
rights of all citizens, there still remain significant sections of the
population who are unable to realise their right to development. A part
of the process will necessarily involve ensuring that the most
marginalised and vulnerable groups – women, minorities, children and
others – do not get left behind amidst an overall positive scenario. It
is also important to focus on the guarantee of human security with the
basic norms of justice as a pre-condition for human development. The
commitment to a transparent government through the use of information
technology for development is one means of promoting accountability. The
decentralisation of administrative and financial responsibilities would
help to accelerate the process. These are all important steps towards
ensuring that citizens have ownership over the development process.
Finally, it is necessary to focus on the crosscutting issues of good
governance and environmental sustainability to ensure the achievement of
the MDGs and national development objectives. In the circumstances, one
of the biggest challenges to the Government remains ensuring the right
to participation and protection of the people of Bangladesh.Excerpted from:
Bangladesh Common Country Assessment 2005 |
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