The World Bank (WB) yesterday approved a US $150 million credit to Bangladesh to create employment opportunities for the extreme poor in rural areas during the lean and monga periods, said a WB press release.
According to the release, one-third of the job opportunities will benefit poor women. The country is home to 35 million people still in extreme poverty, it adds.
”The WB highly prioritises the well-targeted and well-governed safety net programmes to reduce the vulnerability of the poor,” said Ellen Goldstein, country director of World Bank Bangladesh.
”Together, the World Bank and the government are expected to create employment opportunities for approximately 200 million people over a three-year period under this project.”
The release said each year the project will run for 100 days, spanning two lean seasons — one from October to December and the other from March to May — when rural day labourers are often out of work.
Only households where the head is a manual labourer and which have less than half an acre of land will be eligible for the programme. Wages will be paid through formal financial channels to enhance transparency.
The ”Employment Generation Program for the Poorest” will provide short-term employment to vulnerable households in extreme poverty, especially women. The project will support the ongoing programme of the government, which builds on previous successes.
”The project will target both the poorest upazilas and the poorest households,” said Maitreyi Bordia Das, senior social protection specialist and task leader of the project.
”Poverty maps will be used to ensure effective targeting and resource allocation at upazila level. Further, the focus on women’s employment is expected to have large positive impact on their empowerment.”
