Enabling Transformative Transitions: The Role of the Joint SDG Fund in Catalyzing SDG Progress

This event originally took place and was live-streamed via UN Web TV on July 17, 2024. The Permanent Mission of Spain and the United Nations Joint SDG Fund’s High-Level Political Forum 2024 side event provided an in-depth exploration of how the Joint SDG Fund supports critical transitions in areas such as food systems, social protection … Continued

Globalising Southern Approaches to Reducing Extreme Poverty: Policy Adoption of BRAC’s Targeting the Ultra Poor Graduation Program

By Syed M. Hashemi and Aude de Montesquiou This paper explores how BRAC’s Targeting the Ultra Poor graduation program was globally adopted as a successful pathway for extremely poor households to build sustainable livelihoods and improve their conditions. It explores how this Southern model of development and transformation became an integral part of global knowledge. … Continued

Book Launch: Scaling Up Development Impact – Scaling Up Community of Practice

This event was hosted by the Scaling Up Community of Practice and took place on March 12, 2024. This panel discussion featured Isabel Guerrero and her coauthors presenting and discussing with a global panel of experts, including Gregory Chen (Managing Director of the Ultra-Poor Graduation Initiative, BRAC International), the key messages from their recently published … Continued

Why We Should Think About More Than Cash When Seeking to Eradicate Poverty – Nature Careers Podcast

This podcast and interview with Catherine Thomas was originally published by Nature on January 26, 2024. The Working Scientist podcast series from Nature features an episode with Catherine Thomas, a researcher, who is involved in a project in the West African country of Niger, where she is helping its poorest citizens in an extremely innovative … Continued

Building Stable Livelihoods for the Ultra-Poor

This research was originally published on the J-PAL site and was last updated in October 2023. A multifaceted livelihood program that provided low-income households with a productive asset, training, regular coaching, access to savings, and consumption support led to large and long-lasting positive impacts on their standard of living. Additionally, recipient households were better positioned … Continued

Scaling the Graduation Approach

In the past five years, many governments have adopted Graduation and incorporated it into existing programmes, making them more comprehensive and better positioned to meet the long-term needs of those living in extreme poverty. Governments have the mandate, the infrastructure, and the established systems to transform the lives of their most vulnerable people, as well … Continued

Unpacking Multi-Faceted Anti-Poverty Programmes

This audio story was originally published by VoxDev on August 16, 2023. A multi-faceted programme comprising of a grant of productive assets, training, unconditional cash transfers, coaching, and savings has been found to build sustainable income for those in extreme poverty. In this episode of VoxDevTalks, Robert Osei joins to discuss research with Abhijit Banerjee, … Continued

Going the Last Mile: Lifting ultra-poor households out of extreme poverty

This is a playbook based on the largest government-led scale of the Graduation Approach in the world, Satat Jeevikoparjan Yojana (SJY). The programme is implemented and led by JEEViKA and is run in close collaboration with NGO Bandhan-Konnagar as the technical advisor and J-PAL South Asia as the knowledge and learning partner. This knowledge product—which … Continued

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

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

Expanding Graduation to Reach More in Extreme Poverty

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