Geography: Africa

BRAC Applauds the Launch of the Government of Rwanda’s National Strategy for Sustainable Graduation

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Jean Claude Muhire | Rwanda Program Director, Ultra-Poor Graduation Initiative (UPGI) Photo credit to Ministry of Local Government, Rwanda BRAC applauds the Government of Rwanda’s adoption of the National Strategy for Sustainable Graduation (NSSG). The National Strategy for Sustainable Graduation represents a notable commitment to empowering people in poverty to develop sustainable livelihoods and establish … Continued

Building Climate Resilience for Women in Extreme Poverty: Adaptations and Policy Recommendations from the Government of Tunisia’s Pilot Graduation Program

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Climate change, poverty, and gender are inextricably interconnected. As climate change worsens it compounds systemic inequalities and exacerbates poverty, food insecurity, and injustice, especially for women and girls. Governments must adopt an integrated approach to addressing the climate crisis, with an intentional focus on building resilience for women living in poverty. Climate change poses unprecedented … Continued

Tackling Extreme Poverty and Climate Change Together: Solutions from the Global South

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This event was organized by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and BRAC. The panel shared insights and experiences of different approaches including the Graduation approach, cash transfers and broader adaptive social protection systems, and takeaways on applying these approaches to poverty reduction and climate adaptation. Speakers shared concrete examples, practical insights, and evidence … Continued

Stories of Resilience and Innovation: Disability Inclusive Graduation (DIG) in Uganda

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In 2020 a Disability Inclusive Graduation program was launched in Northern Uganda, targeting 2,700 households living in extreme poverty. The DIG program provided training on enterprise management, life skills, financial literacy, and inclusion in Village Savings and Loans Association (VSLA) groups and Village Social Solidarity Committees. Among the participants were 554 persons living with disabilities … Continued

Adapting the Graduation Approach for Unique Contexts

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Enabling people to escape the poverty trap for the long-term requires adaptive approaches that are designed at the local level with their unique contexts in mind. Graduation is one such approach that goes far beyond simply building resilient livelihoods and works to address the multidimensional nature of extreme poverty that is often compounded by circumstances … Continued

Expanding Graduation to Reach More in Extreme Poverty

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Developed in the early 2000s, the Graduation approach was born out of learning from BRAC’s long period of program implementation that preceded it. BRAC has continuously evolved the Graduation approach since first starting the Ultra-Poor Graduation (UPG) program in Bangladesh in 2002, and it has now been adapted and expanded by BRAC and other organizations … Continued

How to Get on Track to Eradicate Extreme Poverty – IPS News

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By Gregory Chen, Managing Director | BRAC Ultra-Poor Graduation Initiative This piece originally appeared on Inter Press Service News on October 10, 2022. Read it here. WASHINGTON DC, Oct 10 2022 (IPS) – As we approach 2030, the Sustainable Development Goals look harder than ever to achieve. Shocks to the global economy caused by climate change, … Continued

Fighting Poverty with Hope: Lessons from the Life of Fazle Hasan Abed – Brookings

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By Scott MacMillan, Director of Learning and Innovation | BRAC USA This piece was originally published on The Brookings Institution’s Future Development blog on September 12, 2022. Read it here. What would Abed say? I often find myself asking this question these days, having authored a new biography of the late founder of BRAC, “Hope … Continued

Door of Hope (Bab Amal): Adapting the Graduation Approach in Upper Egypt

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In July 2018, the Bab Amal Graduation program was launched with the objective of reducing extreme poverty in Upper Egypt. Together with the Sawiris Foundation, J-PAL, the Egyptian Human Development Association (EHDA), and Giving Without Limits Association (GWLA), the pilot targets approximately 2,400 rural, extreme poor households in the Assiut and Sohag governorates. BRAC UPGI … Continued

Lessons in Development from the Global South: 50 Years of BRAC

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This virtual event took place on July 14, 2022, and was hosted by BRAC, the Permanent Mission of Bangladesh to the UN, and the Permanent Mission of Rwanda to the UN on the sidelines of the 2022 UN High-Level Political Forum. This webinar reflects on BRAC’s role in generating development lessons in the Global South … Continued