Poverty and human development

With the development paradigm shifting towards human development rather than mere economic progress, Bangladesh's amazing socio-economic growth is now put to the toughest test ever. What was once a mystery or enigma behind the country's sterling performance, according to development partners and famed economists, on the development front stands to get unravelled slowly. Economic sustainability in the face of adversity was once the hallmark of the country's growth. That image is under threat following the global economic recession induced first by the Covid-19 pandemic and then made worse by the war in Ukraine. It is a time that has rudely exposed the weakness of overwhelming reliance on a sector that is more service-oriented than industrial in nature with its raw materials coming from outside of the country.

 Oliver De Schutter, special UN rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights during his visit to Bangladesh on Monday laid bare in his rather terse comments on Bangladesh's progress, fallibility of development policies and inability to respect freedom of opinion. The right to free expression, according to him, is not just one of the fundamental human rights but also inalienably related to economic issues such as employment, fair wages, elimination of hunger and poverty and even foreign investment. Lauding the progress made by Bangladesh so far, the international human rights law and legal theory specialist points out how a large number of people staying just above the poverty line before the economic shock are now emerging as a fresh category called the 'new poor'. This is because of the combined impact of loss of employment and high inflation. Although the economic crisis is not unique to Bangladesh alone, it is galling because it threatens to prolong and stymie the process of achieving the sustainable development goals (SDGs). The UN rapporteur has been particularly critical of the government's 119 programmes under the social safety net. They are marked and marred by adhocism and bribery because of which many genuinely deserving people are left out. 

Much of poverty reduction could depend on reaching the genuine poor in need of food intervention. But the country's monopolistic market players are using the crisis period as an opportunity for profit making by way of market manipulation. The authorities' inaction or absence of timely intervention has encouraged the unscrupulous business sharks to spur inflation spasmodically for one or more items at some stages to an astronomical high. It is quite natural that a large number of people's food intake and living standard have drastically fallen with its negative impact on almost all development indices.

The UN official has reiterated the oft-repeated overdependence on apparel sector for earning foreign exchange. He has warned of the danger of using cheap labour for doing so. In fact, the country's balanced development is conditional to all working-age people's involvement with standard productive activities. This calls for a minimum level of education and skills. On both these counts, which together form the core of human development, Bangladesh lags behind its neighbouring competitors. Unless the problems in this vital area are addressed seriously to reap the demographic dividends, poverty and underdevelopment will mar the country's journey on the road to prosperity.