Lessons from India on Scaling Graduation through Government

Continued learning and partnership will play a critical role in extreme poverty eradication efforts in the coming years as governments re-evaluate their efforts to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. During a recent immersion visit to learn more about JEEViKA’s Satat Jeevikoparjan Yojana (SJY) program, followed by the Inclusive Finance India and Livelihoods India Summits hosted … Continued

Recommendations for Designing and Delivering Government-Led Graduation Programs for People in Extreme Poverty

By Maxwell Gollin, Policy Officer, BRAC Ultra Poor Graduation Initiative | Carolina de Miranda, Director of Social and Livelihood Promotion, Fundacion Capital | Taddeo Muriuki, Chief Government Relations Officer, Village Enterprise While governments face significant obstacles in designing and delivering approaches for people living in extreme poverty, a substantial body of research shows that programs … Continued

Looking Ahead in 2023: Scaling Beautifully

By Greg Chen | Managing Director, BRAC Ultra-Poor Graduation Initiative BRAC’s founder, Sir Fazle Hasan Abed, liked to say that “small is beautiful, but scale is necessary.” We see this as our twin challenge – to scale at a size that is meaningful on a global level while delivering long-term impact. Recently a colleague nicely … Continued

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

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

How Graduation can complement social protection for women in extreme poverty – OECD

By Isabel Whisson, Senior Manager | BRAC Ultra-Poor Graduation Initiative and Bill Abrams, Senior Advisor | Leadership Collaborative to End Ultra-Poverty This article originally appeared on the OECD Development Matters blog on June 27, 2022. Read it here. Successive crises including COVID-19, climate change, conflicts, and the emerging global food crisis will force 75 to 95 million … Continued

What’s the best way to help extremely poor people? After 20 years, the evidence is in. – Vox

By Sigal Samuel, Senior Reporter | Vox Future Perfect This article originally appeared in Vox on June 24, 2022. Read it here. If you want to fight poverty, you probably intuitively feel that the worst-off people are the ones who should be prioritized. As difficult as it is to live on a few bucks a … Continued

Why multifaceted approaches are critical for eradicating extreme poverty long term – socialprotection.org

By Courtney Calardo, Head of Communications and Max Gollin, Deputy Manager of Communications | BRAC Ultra-Poor Graduation Initiative This piece was originally published on socialprotection.org on June 22nd, 2022. Read it here. Two recently released studies highlight the importance of taking a multifaceted approach when combating extreme poverty. In both, the researchers provide insight into … Continued

In Memoriam: Alison Wright

BRAC’s Statement on the Tragic Passing of Alison Wright BRAC expresses its sincerest condolences to the family and friends of documentary photographer, author, public speaker, educator, and friend of BRAC, Alison Wright. Alison showcased BRAC’s work around the world through her brilliant photography and has documented the people our programs serve in a deeply personal … Continued

What Cultivating Resilience Means for Women Living in Extreme Poverty – Trickle Up

Joint Blog by Trickle Up and BRAC Ultra-Poor Graduation Initiative Communication team members This article originally appeared on Trickle Up on March 8, 2022. Read it here. As we approach a third year of the COVID-19 pandemic, the world continues to face unprecedented challenges and deep uncertainty, especially as the issues of conflict and climate … Continued

Looking Back to Move Forward: A Letter from BRAC UPGI’s Managing Director

By Greg Chen | Managing Director, BRAC Ultra-Poor Graduation Initiative I am delighted to have joined BRAC UPGI as the Managing Director late in 2021. I have long been inspired by BRAC and its Graduation approach. For more than 25 years, I’ve worked to advance financial inclusion through microfinance and digital finance. I have a … Continued