Antipoverty project to reach out to 12 more districts

Social Development Foundation (SDF), a government pilot project financed by World Bank, is set to expand operations in 12 more districts by year-end, aiming to cut poverty.
Under this expansion, the $101 million SDF has initially started work in the northern parts of the country, including Rangpur, Nilphamari, Kurigram and Dinajpur, and would later expand to southern districts, said Muhammad Fazlur Rahman, managing director of SDF.
“SDF's current operation -- Social Investment Programme Project (SIPP) -- was successful in Jamalpur and Gaibandha and the government is now preparing a follow-on project for Rangpur, Kurigram, Nilphamari and Dinajpur,” Rahman said.
“We have already started the technical groundwork to implement projects in four new districts," he said. “In addition, we plan to reach out to eight more districts by the end of this year.”
The poverty rate in Nilphamari, Rangpur and Kurigram districts, which is often hit by Monga, is over 60 percent, said Rahman.
Earlier, SDF has worked in Jamalpur and Gaibandha, two of the poorest districts, under the SIPP project since 2003.
Currently, SDF is implementing three projects -- Social Investment Programme Project (SIPP), Flood Restoration and Recovery Assistance Programme, and Notun Jibon Cyclone Recovery Programme.
“When we started working in Jamalpur and Gaibandha, we initially allocated funds to people in the locality to renovate infrastructure,” said the SDF chief. “These initiatives have increased productivity in the area."
SDF has provided 85 percent of the total cost of renovating roads, schools, building mud road and culverts and excavating canals, to eradicate water logging in the districts.
Rahman said the SIPP is being implemented in Jamalpur and Gaibandha through a community driven development (CDD) approach, where the community participates in identifying their needs and then formulate plans to meet their needs. This project has benefited over two million poor people in the districts.
Under the project, SDF has been disbursing the allocation as loans, at a seven percent rate of interest through village institutions that have been formed with women, youths and the poorest in 922 villages of the districts.
Rahman said they have provided loans to community people on flexible terms, as the borrower would refund the amount without any interest within a year and would pay the interest after gaining stability.
Sabera Begum, a beneficiary of the project, said the project is trustworthy and popular in the locality because the loan is disbursed at a low interest rate and there is a flexible re-collection system.
Sabera said she received loans from the village institutions that received allocations from SDF. The members of the livelihood groups (Jibikayan Groups) later disburse the internal lending. The institution also encourages its members to save.
These groups have gathered savings worth Tk 50 million and provided Tk 33 million as small loans to their group members, to finance income-generating activities, said Rahman.
SDF is an autonomous organisation that was established by the government and financed by World Bank in 2001. Later in 2007, SDF undertook rebuilding and rehabilitating of cyclone and flood-hit areas of the country.
Additionally, SDF along with Palli Karma Sahayak Foundation (PKSF) is also implementing the Flood Restoration and Recovery Assistance Programme in the districts that were devastated by floods in 2007.
In response to the government's request for rehabilitation and reconstruction assistance in the aftermath of the floods, the International Development Association of World Bank (WB) came up with a $25 million emergency programme.
Some 250 flood-affected villages, including 150 in Jamalpur and 100 in Gaibandha, are covered by the consolidated phase of SIPP. About 1,50,000 flood-hit families are directly being benefited by the livelihood support activities, according to a WB official.
To implement the project, the government has signed a credit agreement worth $50 million with IDA. This project has initially targeted 150,000 households from 35 unions in 10 upazilas of four districts in the south, including Patuakhali, Barguna, Pirojpur and Bagerhat.
Meena M Munshi, task team leader of SIPP project and senior economist of WB, said the main objective of the project is to eradicate poverty through empowering the poor people.
“If the government can support them in improving their livelihood and skills, it will help eradicate poverty from the country,” she said. This programme would help build confidence among the poor communities, as their economic conditions are changing gradually, she added.