BRAC's poverty alleviation efforts: a quarter century of experiences and learning

Abstract

BRAC was founded in 1972 in response to a humanitarian relief-oriented need. Over the years, it has evolved as a fully-fledged development agency with activities spread all over Bangladesh. The major focus of BRAC is poverty alleviation, which is addressed through a holistic approach. The components of BRAC's poverty alleviation programme include social mobilization, organization development, health care, children's education, and micro-credit. The distinguishing features of BRAC programmes include promotion of women in the development process, infusion of technology and scaling up of successful programmes. BRAC's poverty alleviation programme is one of the largest in the country, reaching nearly two million households. The paper presents information on the impact of the poverty alleviation efforts in substantive areas such as health, education, women's lives, material well-being, and the coping capacity of the participants. A special programme targeted at the 'ultra poor' is also discussed. The paper concludes with a discussion on lessons learned.