Evolving the Graduation Approach in Bangladesh: A Story of Iteration and Adaptation

By Rozina Haque | Programme Head, BRAC Ultra-Poor Graduation Programme The launch of the World Bank’s State of Economic Inclusion Report 2021 provides a timely opportunity to reflect on the integral role learning and adaptation has played in BRAC’s programming, particularly on the success of the Ultra-Poor Graduation program (UPG) in Bangladesh (detailed in a … Continued

Climate change is destroying people’s lives. Should they be compensated? – Devex

By Amy Lieberman | U.N. Correspondent, Devex This article originally appeared in Devex on December 21, 2020. Climate change disproportionately impacts the world’s most impoverished. So, experts are asking, why can’t they receive direct compensation and support? …“Most people wouldn’t readily say that they are moving because of climate change. They are looking at the … Continued

Investing in Women and Girls: How Governments Can Drive Inclusive Recovery — World Bank

By Hana Brixi | Manager of the Human Capital Project at the World Bank & Lindsay Coates | Managing Director, BRAC Ultra-Poor Graduation Initiative This article originally appeared on the World Bank’s blog on December 4, 2020.  Before COVID-19, many countries were making significant gains in human capital, improving health and education outcomes for girls … Continued

Opinion: The long shadow of COVID-19 on extreme poverty – Devex

By Shameran Abed | Executive Director, BRAC International This article originally appeared in Devex on October 27, 2020. Today, the world faces a greater challenge than any before as the COVID-19 pandemic threatens to undo years of progress in poverty eradication while exacerbating preexisting inequalities and exposing the fragility of our systems. At the beginning … Continued

BRAC UPGI Receives Catalytic Investment as 2020 Audacious Project to Lift 4.6 Million Households from Extreme Poverty by 2026

By Courtney Calardo, Head of Communications | BRAC Ultra-Poor Graduation Initiative Download Full Press Release New York, NY June 18, 2020 — Today, BRAC, a Global South-led NGO that combats inequality and poverty around the world, was announced as one of this year’s Audacious Project grantees. BRAC Ultra-Poor Graduation Initiative (UPGI) will receive more a … Continued

Empowering Women to Escape Extreme Poverty – UNDP

By Nazia Moqueet | Senior Technical Advisor & Courtney Calardo, Senior Communications Manager | BRAC Ultra-Poor Graduation Initiative This article originally appeared on UNDP’s blog on March 17, 2020. While both women and men are affected by extreme poverty, women have a considerably harder time escaping poverty, as their rights are not often protected. They … Continued

Opinion: How to find a resilient solution to extreme poverty – Devex

By Emily Coppel | Director of Communications, BRAC USA This article originally appeared in Devex on October 17, 2016. In the last two weeks, the devastation in Haiti from Hurricane Mathew has grown more and more shocking. Families woke up to see their neighborhoods in tatters, and the number of recorded deaths has risen to … Continued

The ultra-poor: a pioneering technique is helping the hardest to reach – The Guardian

By Scott MacMillan | Director of Learning and Innovation, BRAC USA This article originally appeared in The Guardian on January 12, 2015. How do we reach the people at the bottom of the ladder? They are often the hardest to help, but pioneering work in Bangladesh is achieving genuine progress.

Cash Versus Cows (Part 2): What’s more scalable – cash transfers or in-kind transfers? – NextBillion

By Sadna Samaranayake | Program Manager, BRAC Ultra-Poor Graduation Initiative and Rod Dubitsky, Senior Advisor and Chief Knowledge Officer, BRAC USA This article originally appeared in NextBillion on December 16, 2014. Successfully catapulting households over the extreme poverty line is incredibly hard work, and it requires philanthropic capital and grant-based approaches. In this second part … Continued