OPINION: Will COP27 Still Be Conducting Fire Drills as the World Burns? – Thomson Reuters Foundation

By Asif Saleh | Executive Director, BRAC Bangladesh This article originally appeared in Thomson Reuters Foundation News on February 23, 2022. Read it here. It has been 100 days since COP26 in Glasgow and temperatures continue to peak, fires decimate crops, wildlife and forests, and flooding washes away lives and livelihoods. COP26 was a vitally important global gathering … Continued

OPINION: Global leaders are funding a historic COVID response for the world’s poorest countries, but will it reach those who need it most?

By Shameran Abed | Executive Director, BRAC International; Joanne Carter | Executive Director, RESULTS; and Barbara Jackson |  Vice President: Programs, TrickleUp Far from the limelight, global leaders are on the cusp of striking a historic and unprecedented financing deal for spurring pandemic recovery through the World Bank’s International Development Association (IDA), a mechanism overseen … Continued

How we overcame poverty: Two stories of courage

Two women in Bangladesh go from living on less than 70 cents per day to becoming savvy entrepreneurs who are independently supporting their families. BRAC’s ‘Graduation’ approach to ending poverty gives women living in desperate circumstances the tools and opportunities to improve their lives.

Graduation Story: Alo Rani

Poverty can be overcome, and the benefits last for generations. Alo Rani (‘light queen’ in Bangla) overcame poverty 18 years ago. Her children and grandchildren continue to shine, generations later. BRAC’s Ultra-Poor Graduation programme has supported more than 2 million households in Bangladesh like Alo Rani’s to overcome poverty. This is her Graduation story. BRAC’s … Continued

We Are in a Global State of Emergency on Extreme Poverty – InDepthNews

This article originally appeared in InDepthNews on October 14, 2021. DHAKA (IDN) — It is time we start treating extreme poverty as the global emergency it is. This International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, October 17, we are looking at 100 million more people being forced into extreme poverty by the end of 2021 … Continued

Transforming the Economic Lives of the Ultra Poor

Clare Balboni, Oriana Bandiera, Robin Burgess, Upaasna Kaul (December 2015) A livelihood programme providing productive assets and skills training to the poorest women in Bangladesh village economies helps them move into more stable self-employment and achieves significant reductions in poverty…

Labor Markets and Poverty in Village Economies

Oriana Bandiera, Robin Burgess, Narayan Das, Selim Gulesci, Imran Rasul, Munshi Sulaimany (March 2016) We study how women’s choices over labor activities in village economies correlate with poverty and whether enabling the poorest women to take on the activities of their richer counterparts can set them on a sustainable trajectory out of poverty…

Impact and Spillover Effects of an Asset Transfer Programme on Malnutrition

Wameq A Raza, Ellen Van de Poel (April 2016) Evidence shows that ultra-poor households are typically unable to participate in mainstream poverty alleviation programmes. In response, an international NGO called BRAC in Bangladesh implemented the Challenging the Frontiers of Poverty Reduction: Targeted Ultra-Poor (CFPR: TUP) programme that explicitly targets those living below…

Why Do People Stay Poor?

Clare Balboni, Oriana Bandiera, Robin Burgess, Maitreesh Ghatak and Anton Heil (March 2020) There are two views as to why people stay poor. The equal opportunity view emphasizes that differences in individual traits like talent or motivation make poor people choose low productivity jobs. The poverty traps view emphasizes that access to opportunities depends on … Continued

Anti-Poverty Programs Reach 92 Million People

See how BRAC is reaching the poorest with an innovative set of interventions that creates a ladder out of extreme poverty.