Collective efforts stressed to reduce extreme poverty

Participants at a daylong seminar in the Rajshahi city Tuesday stressed the need for collective efforts to uplift the situation of the extreme poor.

Informing that there were around four crore extremely poor people in the country, they observed it was not possible for the government to change their condition single-handedly.

They called on the government, non-government organisations and elite to join hands to reduce poverty in the country.

BRAC, an NGO, organised the seminar titled 'the role of the livestock department in the programme for the ultra poor' at its Training and Resource Centre.

The Rajshahi divisional commissioner Abdul Mannan spoke at the programme as the chief guest with Mustafizur Rahman, acting deputy director of the Rajshahi divisional livestock department, in the chair.

Speakers at the seminar, urging NGOs to help the extreme poor achieve visible socio-economic betterment, suggested that changes should be brought to the traditional micro-credit system so that it can truly benefit the poor.

Demanding special allocation for the ultra poor of the northern districts in the next budget, they underlined better coordination between the government and the NGOs in carrying out the poverty reduction activities.

The programme was addressed, among others, by policy analyst Abdul Halim Mia, senior sector specialist Dwijen Ray, Sirajganj district livestock officer Shafiqul Islam Mukul and senior social communicator of BRAC Mashiur Rahman.

Six district livestock officers, 45 upazila livestock officers and newsmen of Rajshahi division took part in the programme.

BRAC officials said under its Targeting the Ultra Poor programme, launched in 2002, the NGO covers around four lakh people of very poor socio-economic condition.

Source : New Age