The report tiled 'To the MDGs and beyond: accountability and institutional invention in Bangladesh' released yesterday at the WB office said that Bangladesh has already made significant progress in its MDG targets like increasing gender parity in education and cutting infant mortality rates.

However, to make further pace, an effective partnership is needed among government, service providers and local government to ensure accountability and transparency of public services, the report said.

Focusing on maternal mortality and child mortality, the two most challenging targets of MDGs, the report said achievements made on these two indicators greatly vary not only between rural and urban areas but also between different regions in Bangladesh.

At present, per thousand, infant death rate is 66, which has been much faster than that in India. On the other hand, maternal mortality has fallen from 574 to 360 deaths per one lakh births in the 1990-2001 period, which remains the highest in the world.

As the quality in public health services is poor, the MDG target of 143 deaths per one lakh births by 2015 is most unlikely to be met unless the accountability and transparency of the services are improved.

Citing an example of Gonoshasthaya Kendro (GK) in reducing maternal and child mortality in the rural areas in association with representatives of the local government, the report suggests adopting such approach in the urban areas also.

The urban share of Bangladesh population will increase by 25 to 30 percent between 2005 and 2015, and will have implications on the achievement of MDG targets. But the rapid population growth in urban areas is often not matched with the growth in health and education services.

Poor residents in the slums in the urban areas often are far from the access of education, safe water and health services. As the development partners, NGOs and private entrepreneurs are reluctant to provide formal services to these people for fear of losing investment, the government should take adequate measures, it also said.

"The economic growth cannot be the only factor driving the country towards its millennium development targets. In order to make further strides, Bangladesh needs to address the problems," said Zhu Xain, the country director of World Bank, in his speech.

Mentioning the report findings, he said it should be followed how some NGOs are able to provide substantially better services than the government services providers do at a significantly lower costs.

The WB top official in Dhaka office said,"Bangladesh has the capability of meeting most of its MDGs, including the difficult ones like maternal mortality and child malnutrition, provided it improves the accountability and transparency of public services, establishes firm partnerships among the service providers, local government and communities and starts tackling the lack of services in the growing urban areas".

While presenting the report, Qaiser Khan, the WB lead human development specialist, said urban institutions are not structured to adapt the lessons of accountability from the successful rural experiences.

Economist Dr Hossain Zillur Rahman said any kind of development strategy should come from the people, not from the government side.

Quazi Mesbahuddin Ahmed, the outgoing member, general economic division of planning commission and national PRSP coordinator, Dr Ahmed Mushtaque Raza Chowdhury, member secretary of Health Watch, and Rasheda K Chowdhury, member secretary of Education Watch and coordinator of People's MDG, also took part in the discussion session.