Christian Aid report to the United Reformed Church
Commitment for Life programme - Bangladesh /2006
During 2005/06 Christian Aid spent a total of £773.912 on planned grants to 13 organisations in Bangladesh, of which £100,000 was sent to The Christian Commission for Development in Bangladesh CCDB
Country Context
Domestic Politics are still mired in antagonism between the Bangladesh National Party (BNP) coalition, and the largest opposition party, the Awami League. Consensus on key policy issues is impossible to achieve, and political unrest among supporters of both sides is very likely to increase during the run-up to general elections which must be held by early 2007.
Islamic extremism is a key concern. In August 2005 459 small bombs were detonated around the country. In November and December suicide bombings at Gazipur and Netrokona were clearly intended to kill as many people as possible. Abdur Rahman, leader of Jamiat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), the banned Islamist group thought to be behind the most recent bombings, was arrested in March 2006. JMB has demanded establishment of Islamic rule, and has threatened to kill government ministers and key professionals to achieve that goal. On a local level, Christian Aid partners have reported that extremist groups have been active in promoting ideas that undermine religious tolerance and women’s empowerment.
Relations with India deteriorated in 2005. The Indian government is concerned about alleged mass migration of Bangladeshis across the shared border and that Bangladesh has become a haven for insurgent groups fighting its rule in the north-east. Talks on the sharing of the Ganges river water have failed to reach agreement. All this has done nothing to further cooperation needed to address cross-border issues such as terrorism, people trafficking and environmental management.
The economy seems fairly healthy, with economic growth expected to increase from 5.4% in 2004/05 to 6% in 2005/06 and 7% in 2006/07. But this is making only limited inroads into improving the lot of the poorest sections of the population who have been hit hard sharp increases in the cost of essential goods. Average consumer price inflation is forecast at 6.7% in 2006, a drop from 7% in 2005, but these figures mask much greater increases in food and fuel prices which have sparked protests amongst the[1].
Poverty continues to be concentrated among women (in particular those who are divorced, separated, deserted or widows), A divasi (indigenous) peoples, religious minorities, and communities that are very remote or vulnerable to flooding or land erosion. The United Nations human development indicators rank Bangladesh as 139th out of 177 of the world’s countries, with 36% of the population surviving on less than $1 per day. Rice harvests during 2005/7 were significantly improved on 2004 which was a year beset by severe and widespread flooding, but rates of malnutrition remain high. 30% of the population is undernourished and 48% of children under five are underweight[2].
Overview of issues of concern to the URC
Access to clean water is limited to 75% of the population and only 48% have any form of improved sanitation. Furthermore millions of Bangladeshis continue to drink water from tubewells that is generally free of water-borne disease but is contaminated with naturally occurring arsenic. Several Christian Aid partners continue to work with communities to dig shallower wells that draw water from depths not contaminated with arsenic and to build sanitation facilities.
Christian Aid partner the Bangladesh Centre for Advanced Studies reports that in some areas fresh water supplies are increasingly scarce, due in part to depletion of groundwater for agricultural purposes, and that women and girls in particular have to walk further and further to get water.
Environment: As a low-lying country vulnerable to flooding, Bangladesh faces an uncertain future if predicted manifestations of climate change, such as more frequent cyclones, increased rainfall and rising sea levels become a reality. There are already fears that the annual monsoon floods are worsening, although the extent to which this is related to other factors, such as deforestation in neighbouring India, remains unclear. Christian Aid remains committed to helping people to mitigate the worst effects of disasters and in March 2005, following the successful response to the 2004 floods, Christian Aid partners in met to discuss what could be learned for future disaster management and finalise an Emergency Response Strategy.
Christian Aid partners are also concerned about export-led trade policies that have had a damaging effect on the environment and local ecology. This is particularly so in the cases of export-oriented shrimp production and the leather industry – both of which are responsible for serious pollution. In addition, promotion of the shrimp industry has led to the wide-scale destruction of the mangrove forests, which in turn leaves coastal communities more vulnerable to cyclones and flooding by tidal surges.
Trade liberalisation is having an impact in a number of areas. The termination of the Multi-Fibre Agreement and abolition of international textile quotas did not result in the predicted widespread job losses among garment workers. Woven garments exports dropped slightly but overall garment exports have remained buoyant. However, Christian Aid partners are concerned that increased competition that will lead to a rush to cut production costs by lowering pay and employment standards. At least 64 people died in April 2005 when a nine-storey garment factory that was improperly designed and constructed collapsed. Labour laws and safety standards are routinely flouted. Many garments workers are being forced to longer (often illegal) hours and their pay is amongst the lowest in the world.
Another concern is the coercive marketing by agricultural businesses of commercial rice seed which usually requires expensive inputs such as fertilisers and pesticides to give a successful crop. Christian Aid partners report cases of very vulnerable farmers being forced to accept these seeds in lieu of cash after having approached local NGOs for a loan. The farmers are then forced to buy chemical inputs they cannot afford and don’t know how to use safely. Even if their harvest is successful they cannot save seed for planting the following year, so much buy seed again. More often the result is crop failure, indebtedness, a decline in the natural fertility of the soil and in some cases pesticide poisoning. In addition, Bangladesh has signed a trade agreement with the European Union that could prevent farmers using indigenous seeds that have not been patented.
News from Christian Commission for Development in Bangladesh (CCDB)
CCDB is now working with 76,560 families in 6,964 villages in 27 districts of Bangladesh. Achievements during the year ending June 2005 include:
- Training in safe delivery and community health education was provided for 1440 Traditional Birth Attendants and over 3000 previously trained birth attendants received refresher courses. Neo-natal mortality rates in areas of operation of the programme are now less than half the national average.
- The People’s Participatory Rural Development Programme began working with a further 6,393 very poor families organised into 63 Community Forums. 63 Forum Workers are receiving financial support to help organise skills training, micro-credit schemes and community education.
- The Disaster Preparedness Programme ran two workshops on ‘Good Governance in Disaster’ and ‘Organisational Preparedness in Responding to Disasters’ for other Christian Aid partners and Action by Churches Together.
- 570 received entrepreneurial training of which 227 went on to successfully establish their own businesses.
During the reporting year up to June 2005 CCDB’s programmes directly reached approximately 154,200 people. Because of the multiplication effect of much of its work (such as people who receive training going on to train others in their community) CCDB estimates that over 329,300 individuals benefited indirectly from its work.
Strengthening people’s ability to bring about positive change for themselves remains a cornerstone of CCDB’s work. There are now 395 Community Forums that bring communities together for training and joint action. 52 of these are now independent legal entities, an important step towards strengthening civil society and enabling ordinary people to influence the decisions that affect their lives.
In addition to its regular programmes CCDB assists approximately 15 to 20 thousand poor families affected by disaster such as flooding, cyclones or land erosion each year. Since the 2004 monsoon floods CCDB has successfully acted as the lead organisation among Christian Aid partners’ collective emergency response. The UK Government’s Department for International Development has now selected Christian Aid and participating partners for funding for a new 5-year programme to help communities in Bangladesh become more resilient to the shocks and stresses of disasters.
Recently the emphasis of CCDB’s work has shifted towards a more rights-based approach to meeting people’s needs. Training and support for improving health, education, food security and livelihoods continues to be offered through the Community Forums, but now there is more advocacy and campaigning work going on too, with the aim of promoting societal peace, good governance, environmental conservation, gender equity and the rights of people living with HIV/AIDS.
During 2005 CCDB completed a process of internal reorganisation to become more cost-effective and result-oriented. There have been new initiatives in human resource management, financial management, and programme planning, monitoring and evaluation. It has also improved cooperation with various national and regional alliances such as Christian Conference Asia, the Disaster Forum and the Peace Initiative of South Asia.
Summary of other Christian Aid partners
The Bangladesh Centre for Advanced Studies (BCAS) is supporting a Drinking Water Security programme focussing particularly on the needs of women in 2,500 families.
The Community Development Library (CDL) is collecting, processing and disseminating information to help raise awareness and accelerate community empowerment.
The Church of Bangladesh is running two projects, in Barisal-Gopalganj and Meherpur, to empower rural disadvantaged people (especially women) and reduce illiteracy, improve health and develop income-generating activities.
Friends in Village Development (FIVDB) works in 500 villages in the greater Sylhet area running a programme of literacy, livelihood and agriculture amongst the rural poor.
Gonoshasthaya Kendra ( The People's Health Centre) runs a comprehensive preventive health care system, a female paramedics programme, vocational skills training for women, flood rehabilitation work and a community school programmes.
Gono Kallayan Trust Established (GKT) promotes farming as a means of tackling the nutritional and economic problems of the rural poor.
Gono Unnayan Prochesta (GUP) Sustainable Livelihood Development Program (SLDP) aims to increase farmers’ capacity for food security by building federations and encouraging environmentally friendly technologies to increase food production.
Madaripur Legal Aid Association (MLAA) promotes access to justice among disadvantaged women, landless cultivators, NGO activists, village leaders, teachers and students in three districts, Madaripur, Shariatpur and Gopalganj.
Nijera Kori Rural Development Programme works with landless and land poor communities who are particularly vulnerable to natural disasters, promoting self-reliance and rights to land and livelihood.
Nagorik Uddyog (Citizen's Initiative) aims to strengthen local governance and promote justice irrespective of gender and social status by educating people about human rights. It has established the Access to Justice and Information Network (AJIN).
PRIP Trust works to build the capacity of local NGOs to promote good governance, gender equity, and social justice.
Society for Environment and Human Development (SEHD) aims to raise awareness of minority cultures and engages in research, documentation, training and advocacy on environment, human rights, ethnic issues and development.
Unnayan Bikalper Niti-nirdharoni Gobeshona (UBINIG) works with rural farmers and urban garments workers. It also does research and advocacy on farmers’ rights, women’s rights, food sovereignty, ecology and agro bio-diversity.
[1] Economic data from Economist Intelligence Unit Bangladesh report for 2006.
[2] Poverty indicators from UN Human Development Report 2005
