Rhetorical bottomless basket case Vs Bangladesh’s success with the MDGs, Dr Moazzem Hossain and Mohammad Hoque
Dr Moazzem Hossain
Griffi th University
Australia
Mohammad Hoque
Bangladesh Civil Service Dhaka
Bangladesh
Purpose: 2015 was the end of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) initiative launched by the United Nations (UN),
under the Millennium Declaration 2000. There were eight goals of the MDGs and the aim was to reduce each by half by 2015 from 1990 level. Bangladesh has its share of achievements in meeting all these goals. In particular, the nation reduced poverty by half well before 2015. In achieving sanitation target Bangladesh made major breakthrough in providing access to both rural and urban people. This makes Bangladesh a role model for the developing world in two MDG fronts: improved sanitation access and poverty reduction. This paper attempts to investigate these two issues and analyse the reasons behind the success and lessons for other developing nations.
Design/Methodology/Approach: Approach: Poverty reduction is measured from both secondary macro data and primary microdata from a survey carried out in 2014. The methods used are Head Count Ratio (HCR) and in Purchasing Power Parity (PPP)terms. These are acceptable approaches used for poverty assessment in developing nations. The sanitation performance is assessed from secondary data available from United Nation's Children Fund (UNICEF)
and World Health Organisation (WHO), database. The performances in both rural and urban sanitation facilities have been compared and the factors for improved sanitation have been identifi ed and analysed statistically.
Findings/Limitations: So far it has been established that poverty wise Bangladesh achieved the MDGs' number one goal ahead of time (2015) and in the area of sanitation the country is approaching close to achieving the full goal. However, these fi ndings need investigating further from primary data and make results available to evaluate gaps in reporting.
Original Value: The study will make original contribution towards the debate between the nation’s rhetorical image as bottomless basket case and success with the MDGs in two fronts: poverty reduction by half from 1990 level and doubling sanitation facilities from 1990 level. It is important to know the nation’s present status and compare between rhetoric and reality for future development policies.
Keywords: Kissinger 1971; basket case; poverty; sanitation; Bangladesh; Millennium Development Goals; MDGs.
Citation: Hossain, M., Hoque, M. (2016): Rhetorical bottomless basket case Vs Bangladesh's success with the MDGs. In Ahmed, A. (Ed.): Europe at a Crossroads and the Impact of Globalization, Vol. 14, pp. 117-125.
