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Letter of Transmittal

18 march 2014

Fahmida Hasan (Barrister-at-Law)
Senior Lecturer
Department of business Administration
East West University

Subject: Submission of Assignment on Role of NGOs in poverty Reduction in Bangladesh

Dear Madam
We are honored to submit this report Assignment on Role of NGOs in poverty Reduction in
Bangladesh as you have authorized us to in this semester. We are very pleased to prepare this
assignment under your guidance since it gave us the opportunity to know the current role of
NGOs in poverty reduction in Bangladesh. The congenial atmosphere, the information
assistance, feedback on the topic and to improve this assignment, we are so grateful to you.
We tried our level best to accumulate the information for you as comprehensive as possible. We
will be obliged to provide further clarification on this assignment whenever necessary.

Sincerely Yours,

Name ID Signature
Sajedul Karim Kallal 2010-2-10-360
Bishwojit Saha 2010-2-10-287
Amit Kumar Saha 2010-2-10-288
Ovi Ahamed 2010-2-10-322
Md.Mineuddin 2010-2-10-282
Bibi Moriom Bristy 2010-2-13-047
Fakhrul Hasan 2009-1-10-299
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FOREWORD
First and foremost we would like to express our gratitude and indebtedness to our honorable
faculty Fahmida Hasan, Senior Lecturer, Department of Business Administration, East West
University. We would like to thank our Madam for providing full assistance and detailed outline
about how to proceed with data collection and writing procedure. With his inexhaustible
guidance, valuable advice, continuous inspiration, constructive criticism and generosity he
helped us to carry out this report successfully

We also would like to thank M. Mahboob Hossain, Officer- Administration in RDRS. We would
further like to thank all others who helped to do our survey and provided us informations from
different source to complete our assignment.

Finally, we would like to thank to all group members that directly or indirectly helped us to
provide and accumulate all the necessary information for the accomplishment of this assignment.







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Table of Contents
Sequence Number & Topic Name Page
Number

Executive Summary
04
Chapter 1.0 : INTRODUCTION
1.1 Origin of The Report
1.2 Scope of the study
1.3 Objective of The Study
1.4 Methodology
1.5 Limitations
05-06
05
05
05
06
06
Chapter 2.0 : Overview of NGOs
07-21
2.1 What is NGO
2.2 History of NGOs
2.3 NGOs in Bangladesh
2.4 Poverty situation in Bangladesh
2.5 Activities or Role of NGOs in poverty reduction
07
07-08
08-09
09-10
10-21
Chapter 3.0 : Findings and Analysis
22-25
3.1 Frequency Distribution and Graphs 22-25
Chapter 4.0 :Problems and Recommendations & Conclusion
26-30
Appendixes
References
Survey Questionnaire

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Executive Summary
Bangladesh has made striking progress on a range of social indicators over the last 15 years, an
achievement widely credited to the countrys pluralist service provision regime.
Nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) have significantly expanded their services during this
Period and have shown that it is possible to scale up innovative antipoverty experiments into
nationwide programs. Notable innovations that were expanded include delivering credit to the
previously un-bankable poor, developing a non-formal education program to cater to poor
Children, particularly girls, and using thousands of village-based community health workers to
provide doorstep services. The fact that poor women constitute a large proportion of NGO
Beneficiaries, despite the persistence of strong patriarchal norms, also testifies to institutional
Innovation. The unique role of Bangladeshs NGOs is not confined to the delivery of social
Services and pro-poor advocacy. NGOs have developed commercial ventures in order to link
Poor producers with input and output markets, as well as to develop a source of internally
Generated revenue for the organizations. As we look forward, the 2005 Poverty Reduction
Strategy Paper (PRSP) views the NGOs role as an integral part of efforts to achieve national
Poverty reduction targets, particularly by delivering and facilitating pro-poor services.

However, the rapid growth and diversification of the NGO sector has also given rise to Questions
and concerns. These include the viability of a regulatory framework developed when The size
and scope of NGOs was far more limited, the appropriate political and commercial Spaces for
NGO activities, trade-offs between NGO sustainability and pro-poor orientation, the Impact and
quality of NGO services as they have scaled up, NGO corporate governance, and the
Implications of different government-NGO partnerships. There has been little systematic review
Of the public policy implications of the changing character of NGOs in Bangladesh. The present
Report seeks to augment this effort.

The first part of the report presents the NGOs, history of NGOs, their activities in
Bangladesh context and the poverty situation in Bangladesh. We then turn to the questions of
what NGOs do, which they cater to, how their programs and expenditures differ from those of
other providers, and what impact their programs have had on individual, household, and
community welfare for poverty reduction. Although NGOs provide a diverse range of services,
we have chosen to limit our analysis to the three key areas of microcredit, education and health,
as well as to the advocacy activities undertaken by some NGOs.



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Chapter 1: Introduction
1.1 Origin of the Report :
Assignment is a practical part of academic studies. This is a reflection of academic knowledge
throw practical work experience. Thus this assignment aims to reflect the professional view of a
real world work environment.
Business Administration Department of East West University offers four years BBA program
majoring in different related fields. This four years academic program is the building up of the
theoretical knowledge. Our esteem faculty asked us to Survey and find out the role of NGOs in
poverty reduction in Bangladesh and complete a study that covers process of operation of NGOs
and its contribution in poverty reduction in Bangladesh.
1.2 Objective of the study:
This program was designed to accomplish two objectives. The objectives were identified through
closer interaction and exchange of views with the NGOs role in Bangladesh.
Followings were the objectives of the study:
To know briefly about NGOs in Bangladesh.
To find out the activities of NGOs.
Clients perception about NGOs
To know about the role of NGOs.
To identify the way of practicing the operation process.


1.3 Scope of the study:
In this study we work on a big dimension but the main focus was the poverty situation in
Bangladesh.
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1.4 Methodology:
Determination of sample size: we take 40 samples as we advised and here we follow the
random sample size determination method.
Sources of information: Both primary and secondary information sources were used to
complete this study.
Primary sources: For our primary research, we have mostly used the practical experiences,
knowledge, skills, references of NGO Employees and some standard reference sources like
Operating Branch of RDRS and ASA, Thakurgaon
International NGO journals
Weekly Newspaper
Reports
Online Survey
Secondary sources: Secondary information was collected from the web site of the NGOs. For finding
materials in the web, we used the standard search engines such as-
Websites of different NGOs
Transparency International Bangladesh
Google
1.5 Limitations of the study:
Presently there are more than 2000 NGOs working in Bangladesh, and there working Area,
policies, culture, working condition, management system, focuses are not same with each other.
As a result it is very difficult to measure their different dimensional activities in one platform.
Moreover, subscribers are scattered all over the country. The time constraint confined this study
mostly on the data collected in Dhaka zone. Moreover, it was not possible to get all required
internal information of the NGOs as these are treated as confidential to the respective
organization.The outcome of the study can thus be regarded exploratory, and may not be treated
as absolute for the whole country. In the latter case more comprehensive study is required.
As there are a large number of NGOs scattering throughout the entire Dhaka zone, so we cannot
reach them all. Because of time constraint and resources limitation, that is why we cannot
observe the whole process. So these are ours most considerable limitations. But we were quite
successful to collect our main information. So the result was hopefully satisfactory.
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Chapter 2: Overview of NGO
2.1 What is an NGO?
NGO is the acronym for Non-Government Organization. This is an organization that is a legally
constituted and created either by natural or legal persons and it operates independently from any
government. Non-governmental organizations, or NGOs, were first called such by the newly
formed United Nations in 1945. While NGOs have no fixed or formal definition, they are
generally defined as nonprofit entities independent of governmental influence (although they
may receive government funding). As one can tell from the basic definition above, the difference
between nonprofit organizations (NPOs) and NGOs is slim. However, the term "NGO" is not
typically applied to U.S.-based nonprofit organizations. Generally, the NGO label is given to
organizations operating on an international level although some countries classify their own civil
society groups as NGOs. The scope of their activities may be local, national, or international
NGO activities include, but are not limited to, environmental, social, advocacy and human rights
work. They can work to promote social or political change on a broad scale or very locally.
NGOs play a critical part in reducing poverty, developing society, improving communities, and
promoting citizen participation. With humanitarian assistance, the catalyst role can be dened as
an NGOs ability to inspire, facilitate or contribute to improved thinking and action to promote
social transformation. This effort may be directed towards individuals or groups in local
communities, or among other actors in development such as government, business or donors. It
may include grassroots organizing and group formation, gender and empowerment work,
lobbying and advocacy work, and attempts to inuence wider policy processes through
innovation, and policy entrepreneurship.
2.2 History of NGO:
The history of NGO scan is traced back to 1807, the year when the British abolished the slave
trade, followed by the formation of a number of organized, non-profit movements which
addressed the issues of slavery. In this time period one can witness the founding of some of
todays major world NGOs, many soon followed. The ICRC, founded in 1864, became one of
the leading humanitarian organizations in conflict areas. The American Friends Service
Committee was set up in 1917; Save the Children came into being in 1919, followed by Oxfam
in 1942, all initially oriented in addressing consequences of victims of war. After World War II a
series of service-oriented organizations, which avoided political confrontation and chose the path
of neutrality in conflict emerged Salvation Army, YMCA, YWCA, Cooperative for Assistance
and Relief Everywhere (CARE), dealing with aid, war relief and 9 postwar reconstruction. The
1960s and 70s brought on confrontational approaches by the NGOs.

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NGOs have existed in various forms for centuries, but they rose to high prominence in
international development and increased their numbers dramatically in the 1980s and 1990s. It is
difcult to know precisely how many NGOs there are, because few comprehensive or reliable
statistics are kept. Some estimates put the gure at a million organizations, if both formal and
informal organizations are included, while the number of registered NGOs receiving
international aid is probably closer to a few hundred thousand. The United Nations estimates
that there were about 35,000 large established NGOs in 2000. Nor are there accurate gures
available for the amount of resources that NGOs receive from aid, con- tracts and private
donations. In 2004, it was estimated that NGOs were responsible for about $US23 billions of
total aid money, or approximately one third of total ODA (Riddell, 2007: 53). Newsweek (5
September 2005) cited gures suggesting that ofcial development assistance provided through
NGOs had increased from 4.6% in 1995 to 13% in 2004, and that the total aid volume had
increased from US$59 to US$78.6 billion in the same period.
2.3 NGO in Bangladesh:
Bangladesh has been perhaps the most important hearth on the globe for non-governmental
organizations. Presently there are approximately 2000 NGOs working in Bangladesh. There are
many types of NGOs here for different work approaches. But most of them focus on directly or
indirectly poverty alleviation.
Due to the absence of registration practices with any one authority, and because more than one
kind of organizations may register with the same authority, there is no exact estimate of the
number of NGOs. If non-registered societies (such as, clubs and informal savings and credit
associations, many of which may operate within the periphery of a single village), are included
then some guesstimates put the figure in the range of 22,000 to 24,000. However, it is only a
small subset of these, whose work style and activities appear to be similar, that are commonly
considered as NGOs. They are mostly registered; even though there may always be some who
are aspiring to get registered a formal management structure is generally in place. Even if it is on
paper and one or a few individuals may exercise exclusive authority in practice. The
management, as well as the other working staff, is salaried staff; and the works are normally
carried out within an (management-) approved annual work plan, which specifies various
programs to be pursued in relation to the targets set under each programs.
The ADAB directory lists 1,007 NGOs, including 376 non-memberNGOs.3 The NGO Affairs
Bureau (NAB) of the government of Bangladesh (GOB), which has to approve all foreign grants
to NGOs working in Bangladesh, released grants worth about US$ 250 million in FY 1996-97 to
1,132 NGOs, of which 997 are local and 135 are foreign [NGO Affairs Bureau 1998]. Most
people, familiar with the canvas of NGO activities, suggest that the number of active NGOs in
Bangladesh, as of June 2002, is more than 1,200.
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During most of the 1970s, the NGOs were providing services in social sectors, e g, education,
health and sanitation, family planning, etc. There were also some local movements for self-
reliance, culminating into the formation of Swanirvar Bangladesh Pilot experiments into the
provision of micro credit to small groups were made only towards the end of the 1970s. With the
success of the Grameen Bank, the 1980s experienced a gradual acceptance of micro credit
activities by NGOs. New institutions, often with indigenous effort, emerged during the late
1980s and early 1990s, though many of the first generation NGOs continued to engage in the
delivery of social services. In spite of their induced interest in credit delivery, many of the newly
emerging micro-finance institutions (MFIs), which are also included in the domain of NGOs,
have exclusive focus on microcredit. In the specific context of Bangladesh, the distinction
between NGOs and MFIs therefore often gets blurred. While the act of financial intermediation
may require special focus, the micro credit organizations (MCOS) 6 quite often engage as agents
in the NGO sector as well. Figure describes the broad activities undertaken by the NGOs. Most
NGOs engage in group-formation and provide financial services to group members. Some also
engage in providing social services -health, education, water and sanitation, training and skill
development and awareness building. Broadly speaking, while the NGOs may differ in their
early engagements, their commonality is derived from the network of groups, of primarily
women members, which underlie most NGO activities. Most NGOs also engage in providing
financial services. While primary research into the paths of institutional savings and asset
Accumulation is yet absent; there is enough anecdotal evidence to suggest that this is underway
in a significant way.
Two other areas of engagements, often undertaken in conjunction with one or more of the four
interventions listed above, are advocacy and research. Advocacy is a tool used to promote
improved performance, shift priorities and highlight areas of concern. It is also an essential
ingredient to social mobilization thus; advocacy may overlap with all the market spaces
identified in the figure. The same holds for research. However, both these activities may turn out
to be saleable services, which a commercially motivated NGO may decide to deliver.
2.4 Poverty Situation in Bangladesh:
The incessant battle against poverty and famine is long observed in our country. People like day
laborer, rickshaw puller, weavers, fisherman, small businessman, shop owners, smith, and
landless people, farmer and marginal farmer live in abject poverty. According to World Bank,
poverty rate in Bangladesh is around 36%-40% with 40% ultra-poor living in the rural area and
15% in the urban area. Poverty at the rural area is considered one of our most important and
increasing tribulations.

Eradication of poverty in Bangladesh is an enormous and multi-dimensional challenge. Almost
42.5% of the people living in villages are poor while 18.7% are termed ultra-poor. In the last
three decades the government has undertaken extensive activities. The main objective of first
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five-year plan (1973-1978) was poverty eradication. This trend is still continued in all
subsequent five-year plans. But to handle multifaceted and inter-related problems like rural
poverty, the government also has limitations if the matter is to be managed single handedly due
to inadequate assets, capability and sometimes lack of willingness. In this case overall
cooperation between government and different development agencies can play significant role in
poverty eradication.
The developing agencies in Bangladesh can engage themselves in developing activities and at
the same time can bring in a positive change in the life of the poor through social changes and
development. The NGOs of Bangladesh think that development is a process through which the
members of a society build their organizations as well as themselves in such a way, which
increases their capability to manage required assets to match expectations with a well distributed,
stable corresponding living standard. The ideologies of NGOs to eradicate rural poverty are the
empowerment of poor, developing their institution and creating ability through appropriate
distribution of assets and capacity. NGOs give importance on the causes of poverty to eradicate
poverty instead of changing the attributes of poverty.

Below some statistics is given to illustration the expanse of poverty situation in rural areas

TABLE 1 CALORIE WISE POOR AND ULTRA POOR POPULATION
Nature
of Poverty
2000/2001
(%)
2002/2003
(%)
2004/2005
(%)
2006/2007
(%)
2008/2009
(%)
2010
(%)
Poor 61.9 54.7 47.8 47.6 47.1 42.3
Ultra Poor 36.7 26.3 28.6 28.3 24.6 18.7

2.5 Activities of NGO to reduce poverty:
The range of activities undertaken by the development NGO sector as a whole is wide, including
micro-finance; health and education services; social safety net programs; agricultural extension;
social forestry and environmental protection; safe water and sanitation; disaster management and
relief; and legal and human rights education. Interventions include the provision of credit,
training, inputs and support for institution-building; the provision or co-provision of schools,
clinics or mobile health-related services; the training and supervision of service-providers and
the design and production of teaching and training materials. Advocacy and policy dialogue have
become increasingly prominent since the 1990s, and commercial enterprises are growing in
importance. Clients are offered a strikingly homogenous set of services, with 92 per cent
providing micro-credit.
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The second most common area of service activity is in health and sanitation (slightly more than
half of NGO branches) followed by the provision of child schooling and provision of clean
drinking water. However, NGOs do differ in their product range within these sectors as the
discussions on the various sectorial interventions will illustrate. In the NGO survey,93 per cent
report attempting to raise awareness about at least one issue, with the focus on sanitation, health
and nutrition and 42 per cent report having been involved in advocacy or lobbying the
Government over the previous year.




2.5.1 Micro Credit:
Overall economic development is essential for poverty eradication at the rural level. Besides
employment generation, per head income and scheme to increase savings is required so that a
sustainable development and poverty reduction can be seen for the poor. The identification of
loan as a significant necessity for sustainable economic development for the poor as well as
developing an effective method for meeting the demand for loan is a competent model of poverty
eradication. The micro credit scheme launched by Grameen Bank is now established worldwide
for its success in poverty eradication. This model has been accepted even at the government
level. The government has established Palli Karma Sahayak Foundation (Rural Activities
Assistance Foundation) or PKSF and till December 2007, has provided loans to several eligible
NGOs 1, 04,089 core taka for micro credit scheme. Different NGOs so far have given (June
2007) 1, 04,089 core taka micro-credit loans. The number of people enjoying such benefits is
116.05 lakh. Almost 23.50% of these loans are collected from PKSF and 9.15% from local
Banks. Presented below briefly is the data on four major NGOs of Bangladesh and their micro
credit scheme.
0 20 40 60 80 100
Credit
Child Education
Health care
Sanitation
Drinking Water
Figure 1:Activities of NGO
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Table 2: MICRO CREDIT SCHEME BY MAJOR NGOS IN BANGLADESH
Name of NGO Active member no. (in
thousands)
Cumulative credit
distribution (in core taka)

1. BRAC
2. Proshika
3. ASHA
4. Swanirvar Bangladesh


2,253
1,132
873
667

2560.10
677.40
925.10
157.20
Total (Inclusive of other
NGOs)
7,165 5,354.40


2.5.1.1 The impact of micro-credit in Bangladesh:

Micro-credit has had a positive impact on several individual and household outcomes in
Bangladesh, most clearly on consumption smoothing and social indicators. This consumption
Smoothing is driven by income smoothing as evidenced by the significantly lower labor supply
variability experienced by micro-credit members compared to the control group. The importance
of this result cannot be over-emphasized given the fact that seasonal deficits play a key part in
the poverty process in Bangladesh. Aside from micro-credits contribution to stabilizing
incomes,
There is also evidence that micro-credit, on average, raises the level of household income. A
recent panel analysis of households over the 2002-2007 periods shows that for every 100 taka
lent to a woman, household consumption (a proxy for income) increases by 11 taka. Somewhat
surprisingly, the impact appears to be greater for households who started off extremely poor (18
percentage point drop in extreme poverty in seven years) compared to moderate poor households
(8.5 percentage point drop). These results differ from earlier evidence that pointed to moderate
poor borrowers benefiting more than extremely poor borrowers due to the fact that the poorest
have a number of constraints (fewer income sources, worse health and education etc.) which
prevent them from investing the loan in a high-return activity

The impact of micro-credit on non-income indicators in Bangladesh is also broadly positive.
There is now convincing evidence based on a representative household survey that takes into
account common methodological problems such as selectivity bias, that access to micro-credit
empowers females to discuss family planning issues with their spouses, leads to women taking a
greater role in household decision making, having greater access to financial, economic and
social resources and to greater mobility. These findings are in line with other work on micro-
credit and female empowerment in Bangladesh.


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2.5.2 Microfinance:
The growth of the microfinance sector took place in several stages. Through the 1980s and early
1990s, NGOs started to develop the managerial capacity, program design, and organizational
features that paved the way for expansion. NGOs opened new branches that simulated practices
and organization of existing branches, a process enabled by the simple, standardized nature of
the product being offered and the homogeneity and density of the population. Donors contributed
to the expansion of revolving loan funds in the early1990s; around the same time, PKSF was
established to provide wholesale financial and technical Support to the sector. Expansion of
mainstream credit services continued apace through the mid- 1990s, while research and
experience contributed to the diversification of the sector to meet the needsincluding the
noncredit needsof different client groups.

Microfinance programs are reasonably successful at reaching the poor, though there are
underserved pockets in highly poor districts. The microfinance sector in Bangladesh is the
worlds largest, with around 43% of all households in the country accessing microcredit.
Conversely, the relatively prosperous central districts have a larger share of their population
accessing microcredit. This is not altogether surprising. Compared to at aggregated safety net
program such as a public works program, microcredit is more dependent on the physical and
economic endowment of the locality, which helps determine how well borrowers can put the
funds to use. Hence both the demand for and the supply of microcredit are lower in the poorer
areas.
Another new area of expansion is in the direction of micro-enterprise lending, that is,
larger loans than are usually disbursed in mainstream micro-credit, to enterprises that extend
beyond the livelihood portfolio of the household. Micro-enterprise lending is not always
provided to the poor, although the enterprises involved may employ poor people. New flexible
savings products for the poor are also emerging, as well as various forms of insurance. A large
proportion of extremely-poor households, measured by initial landholding size, join microcredit
programs. For instance in the most comprehensive nationwide survey of micro-credit borrowers
carried out in Bangladesh thus far, sixty percent of the sampled members have less than twenty
decimals of land. At the same time it has been estimated that certain groups of extreme-poor
households do not take part in micro-credit programs due to a number of constraints (fewer
income sources, worse health and education, demographic challenges etc.) which dissuade them
from borrowing. The past five years has seen a number of new efforts to reach this group, by
offering smaller loans sizes, more flexible repayment schedules and more intensive supervision






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Table 3: The scale of nongovernment microfinance activity
Members
(millions)
Number of active
borrowers
(millions)
Outstanding loan
portfolio (US$
millions)
Member savings
(US$ millions)

Big Four
Grameen Bank
BRAC
ASA
Proshika
Other NGO MFIs
Total
Big Four as % of
total
17.9
5.2
5.1
5.7
1.9
3.9
21.8
82.1

14.2
4.7
4.3
3.8
1.4
2.2
16.41
86.6
955.9
388.9
255.9
238.8
72.4
124.3
1080.3
88.5
470.6
275.5
129.7
41.3
24.0
85.9
3556.5
84.6



2.5.3 Health and sanitation:

NGO health expenditure has expanded over the past decade but remains relatively small
compared to private health spending. NGO spending on health and nutrition activities is nine per
cent of total health expenditure and around 0.3 percent of GDP, a three-fold growth between
1996 and 2002 (see table 2.3). The bulk of total spending on health services is by households on
private care (64% in 2001/02). The ratio of Government and NGO spending on health is around
3:1.

Larger NGOs are becoming increasingly dominant in health. A survey of 149 NGOs involved in
health and nutrition sector activities62 highlights the growing dominance of the five largest NGOs
in the sector, whose spending almost doubled between 1999 and 2002, reaching 73 per cent of
total NGO health sector spending63. In contrast, spending by small NGOs declined in absolute
terms, from Tk 819 million (16 per cent of NGO health spending) in 1999 to Tk 486 million (6
per cent of NGO health spending) in 2002.

The high burden on poor households of medical expenses in Bangladesh makes a strong case for
NGO provision of health services. Illness within poor families is a major feature of
impoverishment and downward mobility. While NGO facility-based curative health services are
a small proportion of such services in total, the community based health delivery approach
contributes to reducing inequities by improving access for poor rural women for whom distance
to health facilities is a major determinant of their usage. Spending by NGO health facilities is
more progressive than in public or private facilities with the rural poor in general successfully
exempted from fee payments. However expenditures by public health facilities benefit the rich,
surprisingly even more than those by private clinics For instance, around 32% of public health
expenditures went to the top quintile compared to 27% for private facilities and 19% for NGO
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health facility expenditures. Family planning tops NGO health spending closely followed by
general health and maternal and child health

Table 4: The share of NGO health spending
1996-97 1997-98 1998-99 1999-00 2000-01 2001-02
(as % of Total Health Expenditure)
Ministry of Health
NGO
Household
27.6
2.9
64.1
28.3
3.0
65.1
27.2
4.1
65.7
25.3
6.9
65.1
23.1
8.8
64.8
23.3
9.2
64.2
(as % of GDP)
MOHFW
NGO
Household
0.9
0.1
2.0
0.9
0.1
2.0
0.8
0.1
2.0
0.8
0.2
2.0
0.7
0.3
2.1
0.8
0.3
2.1
Note: MOHFW = Ministry of Health and Family Welfare; HH = Households


The provision of water and sanitation services by NGOs is also critical to achieving health
outcomes. Around 700 NGOs now work in the water and sanitation sector, with international,
national and small local NGOs commonly working in partnership. The policy contexts strongly
supportive of NGO involvement, in recognition of the scale of the need and the shortfall in
present provision, as well as of NGO capacities to stimulate behavioral change and to target and
supply credit to poor rural women. The two major policies on water and sanitation, the National
Safe Water Supply and Sanitation Policy (1998) and the National Water Policy (1999) both
encourage and support a role for NGOs. The target group approach and practices of beneficiary
training and community-based group meetings have been vital for transmitting messages to rural
populations about arsenic contamination, open defecation, the use of safe water, and hygiene.

Another key intervention is the provision of micro-credit for sanitary latrines and shallow tube
wells. Government-NGO collaboration is increasingly important in the health sector. NGO
involvement in the health sector has to date been principally financed by donors, although
growing recognition of the potential importance of NGO involvement in the sector has led to
greater linkages with Government. While direct donor support to NGOs rose in absolute terms
between1999 and 2002, the share as a proportion of the total declined from 78 to 67 per cent.


2.5.3.1 The impact of health program in Bangladesh
Multivariate analysis using the data from the Child Nutrition Survey 2000 shows that the
presence of BRAC or Grameen Bank in a village can have a significant effect on malnutrition.
Results show that the presence of one of these organizations can lead to a decline of about 20
percent in moderate and severe malnutrition among the poor70, controlling for a set of other
household and community factors.

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The explanation for this includes (i) the use of micro-credit for consumption-smoothing purposes
(ii) the impact of nutritional education during weekly group meetings and (iii) the impact of
nutritional supplements and education directly provided by health workers. There is also other
credible evidence that points in a similar direction. Panel data suggests that between 1992 and
1995, severe malnutrition (as measured by mid-upper-arm circumference) declined significantly
for children of BRAC members compared to a control group of nonmembers.

Similarly the survival probability of children belonging to BRAC households is better than that
for children from poor non-member households, primarily due to mortality differences in the
immediate post-natal months. The same study also shows that BRAC members had a
significantly higher probability (0.57) of using family planning compared to both poor non-
members (0.50), as well as compared to wealthy households in the village (0.51).

Our earlier analysis refers to the impressive partnership between Government and NGOs in
controlling the spread of tuberculosis. A comprehensive evaluation shows that the prevalence
rates of tuberculosis cases in the program intervention sub-districts was half that in the non-
program comparison sub-districts. One of the most important facets of tuberculosis control is
detection and the role of NGO community health workers in door to door identification of
potential TB cases was a key part of an effective campaign against the disease. Moreover, given
the social stigma associated with the disease, there is low attendance at government health
facilities and the doorstep counseling and treatment services provided by community health
workers is a key part of the strategy. Other important factors cited are the regular availability of
free drugs through the community health workers, the availability of sustained donor support for
this program and the technical support provided by the Government to the NGO intervention.


7%
25%
11%
17%
20%
20%
Figure 2: Distribution of NGO Expenditures by Health
Program (1999-2002 average)
Immunization
Family planing
Training
Communicable deases
General health
Maternal and child health
17

2.5.4 Education:

NGO education services are targeted to the poor. Around 46 per cent of NGO branches in the
World Bank NGO survey provide child education services, with a further 25 per cent involved in
adult education73. As many as 1.5 million children, or around eight per cent of all currently
enrolled primary students, are in NGO primary schools. Of these 1.2 million alone are enrolled in
BRACs network of 34,753 non-formal primary schools.74 As figure 2.6 illustrates the majority
of students in NGO schools are from the bottom two socio-economic quintiles in contrast to
Government and other schools.

The share of non-salary inputs in NGO primary school expenditure is far larger than in
Government schools. Unit costs in NGO primary schools, at around $17 per student per year are
slightly lower than in Government primary schools. Notably the composition of expenditures in
NGO schools is sharply different. As table illustrates NGO schools spend only about half of their
recurrent expenditures on teacher salaries in contrast to Government schools where the
equivalent figure is 95%. This is largely due to the fact that NGO primary school teachers are
less qualified and are prepared to accept a far lower salary scale.

NGO education programs in Bangladesh remain best known for their non-formal primary
education programs, which are widely understood to be high quality and cost-effective
interventions which reach the poor and in particular poor girls.

Table 3: Composition of Education Expenditure in different types of schools Total Expenditure
Main Expenditure Item Total expanse Recurrent Expenditure
Govt. Private Madrasa Non-
Formal
Govt. Private Madrasa Non-
Forma
l
Salaries (teachers &
others)
81.8 61.3 81.5 49.6 94.6 87.4 93.9 51.1
Physical facilities 12.4 27.5 11.8 0.9 - - - -
Materials/Stationery 1.4 3.2 1.8 30.9 1.6 4.6 2.1 31.8
Rent 0.5 0.3 0.5 15.3 0.6 0.4 0.6 15.8
Fixed assets 1.1 2.4 1.4 2.0 - - - -
Other Expenditure 2.8 5.3 3.0 1.3 3.2 7.6 3.4 1.3
Total 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

There has been a strategic shift into pre-primary and secondary education by the dominant NGO
in education which has led to greater collaboration with Government. The number of primary
schools has changed little over the past decade and there appears to be growing focus on other
areas.

The growing number of BRAC pre-primary schools is designed to fill a gapwhere the State has
little presence and where NGO schools are seen as important to fill this void.Children passing
18

out of BRAC pre-primary schools are admitted into Government primary schools.In secondary
education the Ministry of Education has given permission to certain NGOs to develop the
capacity of secondary school teachers, school management committees and communities. This
role as a facilitator of better quality education is likely to yield greater results for larger numbers
of people than if NGOs focused on becoming a direct provider of post-primary education.

2.5.4.1 The impact of NGO education programs in Bangladesh:

Efficiency indicators in NGO schools are noteworthy. Attendance in NGO schools was estimated
at 85% compared to 55% in Government schools. The completion rate for NGO schools tends to
be higher than the average of 68 per cent in formal schools, with BRAC at 93, FIVDB at 85 and
Proshika at 90 per cent. However while the transition rate from NGO primary schools to
Government secondary schools is impressive, drop-out rates in the first year of secondary remain
High.

Exposure to NGO schools has a greater impact on female enrolment relative to Government
schools: There is clear evidence that NGOs set up schools in villages where there are a higher
proportion of children with no schooling these are also villages where typically adults have
lower average schooling79. After controlling for a range of individual and household level
characteristics and village level fixed effects, exposure to a NGO school in a village has a greater
impact on girl enrollment than for boys, while there is no gender difference for Government
schools. This impact is greater for girls from poor households residing in rural areas.

The impact of NGO schools on test scores is highly significant. Test score data from the
nationally representative Assessment of Basic Competency (ABC) survey of 3360 children
carried out in 1998 has been used to assess the quality of education in NGO schools. The results
show that after controlling for a range of factors that could influence test scores, attending an
NGO school increases both the reading and writing test scores significantly more than attending
a Government school. Relative to children who have never been to school, attending an NGO
school increases the scores for reading skills by 22% for girls compared to 8% if the girl child
attends a Government school. The figures for writing skills are 31% for girls in NGO schools
and 10% for girls in Government schools. The NGO school premium for boys is slightly
narrower but still very striking for both reading and writing skills achieve better educational
outcomes than students of other types of school, overall achievements on a number of basic
competencies are still relatively low. Only 38% of NGO school students satisfied the basic
education criteria, compared with 21% in Government schools. However, more recent evidence
suggests NGO school students score well in both absolute and relative terms in terms of literacy.



19

2.5.5 NGOs and advocacy:

NGO advocacy activities have intensified since the return to democracy in the 1990s, presenting
a more direct but still cautious - challenge to successive Governments. The emergence of a
multiparty electoral democracy made space for the intensification of NGO advocacy work in the
1990s. NGO involvement in advocacy work in the 1970s and 1980s had been sporadic, mainly
limited to the demonstration effect or instances when their own activities highlighted the need
for policy shifts. For example, Proshikas program of providing livestock to members was
suffering from the public sector monopoly on livestock vaccination in the 1970s; Proshika
advocated the training and licensing of its group members as para-vets, which enabled them to
break the monopoly, extend coverage, and help create new livelihoods for members.



Good governance became a leading focus of NGO advocacy from the 1990s: a donor
coordinated initiative the Development Partnership was established to address local governance;
the Fair Election Monitoring Alliance (FEMA) was set up as an independent election watchdog,
in 1995; and 1996 saw the establishment of the Bangladesh chapter of Transparency
International, focused on anti-corruption activities. Proshika was the earliest of the large NGOs
to institutionalize its advocacy activities, with the establishment of the Institute for Development
Policy Analysis and Advocacy (IDPAA) in 1994. It was not until 2002 that BRAC followed suit
with its own separate advocacy unit.



Most NGO branches participate in public awareness campaigns designed to promote mass
awareness of issues such as sanitation, nutrition, rights and gender (93 per cent of NGO branches
According to the World Bank NGO survey). In addition, 42 per cent report lobbying national or
local authorities. Of these, a higher proportion reported having met with the authorities in order
to lobby for financial support for their own or other local NGOs, with only 20 per cent reporting
their lobbying goals as including policy change. This suggests that NGO advocacy - in the sense
of lobbying for policy change is carried out by selected NGOs and mainly from their
headquarters level. NGO advocacy activities are increasingly prominent, institutionalized and
coordinated in the areas of good governance, state compliance with constitutionally guaranteed
laws and universal human rights, and developmental rights. Summarizes the advocacy strategies
and practices of seven organizations taken as representative of NGO advocacy activity.




20

Table 4:Advocacy and awareness raising: RDRSs progress in 2004
Indicators Annual
Target
Achieved

No. of womens rights protection and promotion cells functioning (at
federations)
260 257
No. of federation leaders trained in mediation skills and village court 225 245
No. of group members had legal education 93600 93954
No. of adolescents trained in gender awareness and reproductive health 75 687
No. of pregnant mothers given orientation on family laws and birth
registration
2340 30818
No. of mediations organized/handled at federation level 520 1739
No. of teachers trained in human rights and family laws 200 175
No. of popular theaters organized on gender issues 161 167


The scope and nature of NGO advocacy work is influenced by (i) official control over NGOs
through formal registration requirements and other legislation (ii) the fine line between party
political activism and advocacy from within civil society and (iii) the scope for protecting the
political space, including through support from donors, NGO champions and influential
individuals within Government, and through media activism. Unlike other areas of NGO activity,
advocacy often cuts across sectorial spaces and where it involves challenges to Government
has the potential to conflict with NGO service delivery goals.

2.5.5.1 Impact of NGO advocacy:
Understanding the role and impact of NGO advocacy requires an understanding of the political
space in which they operate, and the challenges and constraints they face. Where the political
line is drawn is a matter of continual negotiation and conflict between NGOs, other civil society
actors, political parties and the state. This has been demonstrated most clearly since 2001 in the
form of official actions to de-register or halt the activities of five NGOs (including Proshika) for
their allegedly partisan bias during voter education campaigns in the run-up to the 1996 election.
The description of advocacy activities by NGOs above illustrates the range of issues that
advocacy NGOs cover and points to the fact that quantifying its impact is difficult. Nevertheless,
the following section attempts to assess the impact of advocacy for electoral reforms, curbing
corruption, protecting civil liberties and strengthening the rights of the poor, particularly women.
The Fair Election Monitoring Alliance (FEMA) campaigns have regularly presented a range of
reform recommendations on electoral reforms.
Transparency International focuses on advocacy related to anti-corruption and are best
known for their country corruption index. The relative ranking of countries draws considerable
attention and Bangladeshs ranking in particular is the subject of much debate and controversy.
Less well known is Transparency International Bangladeshs analysis and advocacy on specific
ministries and themes.

21

The largest NGOs involved in advocacy issues regarding womens rights are the Mahila Parishad
and Naripokkho. Together with other NGOs and civil society groups, sustained advocacy and
awareness raising campaigns have led to legislation on violence against women (specifically
acid-throwing) and setting up womens courts.

While the above examples point to areas where advocacy has had some positive effects, another
example related to advocacy for rights of the landless is illustrative of more limited impact
during the implementation of reforms. Samata, whose main goal is improving landless access to
idle Government land (Khas land), has been effective in lobbying for amendments to the
Vested Property Act so that the landless can get access to such properties. However, the
implementation of these amendments is proving slow due to deficiencies in land records
compounded by lethargy in the local Khas Land Distribution Committees.

















22

Chapter 3.0: Findings and Analysis

3.1. Peoples Perception about the reasons of poverty:
Reasons Absolute Frequency Relative Frequency % of relative
Frequency
Lack of Education 17 0.425 42.5%
Over Population 12 0.30 30%
Corruption 07 0.175 17.5%
Unemployment 04 0.10 10%
Total 40 1 100%


3.2. Present Situation Of poverty:





42.50%
30%
17.50%
10%
Reasons of poverty
Reasons of poverty
Decreasing Stable Increasing Massive
37.50%
32.50%
20%
10%
Present Situation Of poverty
23

3.3. Contribution in Poverty Reduction by different Organization:
Reasons Absolute Frequency Relative Frequency % of relative
Frequency
NGOs 18 0.45 45%
Private Org. 10 0.25 25%
Multi-National
company
08 0.20 20%
Banks 04 0.10 10%
Total 40 1 100%


3.4. Which Programs are most influential in poverty reduction by NGOs?

NGOs Private Org. Multi-National
company
Banks
45%
25%
20%
10%
Contribution in Poverty Reduction
Contribution in Poverty Reduction
Micro Credit Education Employment Health
Development
50%
25%
18%
8%
Most influential Steps
Most influential Steps
24

3.5. NGOs most accepted way of communication to its target people:



3.6. Major Reasons of failure of NGO in poverty reduction:


Door to Door
Awareness
Member
Collection &
Contribution
Short term
Training
Media
50%
15%
10%
25%
way of communication
way of communication
Funding
Problems
Management
Problems
Corruption Others
15%
23%
53%
10%
Reasons of failure
25

Reduction
of Nepotism
Effective
meeting
Participative
decision
making
Reduction
of political
and social
biasness
37.50%
12.50%
25% 25%
Concentrated areas
0.00%
5.00%
10.00%
15.00%
20.00%
25.00%
30.00%
35.00%
40.00%
Reduction
of Nepotism
Effective
meeting
Participative
decision
making
Reduction
of political
and social
biasness
37.50%
12.50%
25% 25%
3.7. Performance of Governing body of NGOs














3.8. Concentrated area that increase governing bodies effectiveness

Reasons Absolute Frequency Relative Frequency % of relative
Frequency
Reduction of
Nepotism
15 0.375 37.50%
Effective meeting 05 0.125 12.50%
Participative decision
making
10 0.25 25%
Reduction of political
and social biasness
10 0.25 25%
Total 40 1 100%











26

Chapter 4.0: Problems and Recommendations

4.1Criticism:

4.1.1 Ineffective Governing Body:

The governing body is formed according to the choice of founding executive head.
The governing body does not oppose the executive heads opinion and decision.
Meetings of the governing body are held only to maintain formality.
Meeting proceedings are prepared although a meeting is not held.
Membership of the governing body is given to people for their social and political
reputation although they are not able to give time to the organization.
4.1.2 Usurping Employees Salary;

Staff salary is drawn from multiple projects by showing the same employee serving more
than one projects whereas the staff is paid for only one.
The salary mentioned in the circular is often less than that as per approved project
proposal. The salary as mentioned in the circular is not fully paid. Staff salary is deducted
on different grounds. Salary is not paid according to the project budget, even if signatures
are taken on the pay-slip. Two salary statements are often maintained to cover such
irregularities.
4.1.3 Bribes to the Bureau and other Government Offices:

Many NGOs provide speed money in order to get the fund released.
Many NGOs offer bribe or gift in order to get government projects.
The concerned government official is often bribed for getting different works done.
4.1.4 Avoiding Tax by NGO Officials:

Many NGO high officials avoid income tax by showing the basic salary less and other
facilities high.
The chief executive often takes salary from many projects, but does not reflect it in the
accounts.
Such irregularities take place with the connivance of tax consultants.

4.1.5 Institutional Management:

The NGO organogram, job description and work hour, vacations and holidays are not
maintained according to the rule.
The employees do not have job security.
There is no provision of provident fund in many NGOs.
27

4.1.6 Employee Harassment, Complain System, and Grievance Procedure:

The higher officials often do not show proper respect to the employees.
The employees often face mental torture, and verbal abuse.
In some cases there are clear complaints against the chief executive and other higher
officials for physical and mental abuses.
Female employees cannot express harassments committed upon them for fear of a
negative impact.
4.1.7Corruption in Recruitment & Promotion:

Employees/consultants are recruited according to the unilateral choice of the chief
executive.
Recruitment and promotion are found to take place on the basis of nepotism and personal
relationship with the chief executive. Examples of financial transaction were also evident
in some recruitment.
Selection process often lacks transparency selection board takes place to recruit a
preselected candidate.
Recruitment is often influenced upon recommendations from the donor, politicians,
government officials, or other influential persons.
Many professionals including journalists are employed without maintaining the due
recruitment procedure.
4.1.8 Training and Workshop:

Shortage of initiatives for increasing the skill of the staff. In many cases there are no
regular training programs.
Lower level employees have very limited scope to participate in training or workshop,
especially if it is abroad.
Members of governing body are sent aboard for training or workshop although the
outcome is not beneficial for the organization.
4.1.9 Exaggerated Evaluation of the Programs:

Efforts are often made to influence consultants or evaluators so that reports produced are
favorable to the NGO. Inefficient consultants are appointed to evaluate the projects so
that the real picture is not revealed.
Achievements are often exaggerated in the project evaluation report to show the expected
change as the outcome of the programs.
Many times journalists are influenced to publish exaggerated reports on the success of the
NGO.


28

4.2 Set of Recommendations:

An autonomous NGO Commission should be set for monitoring of the entire NGO Sector. Under
this commission, registration, monitoring, controlling and other interrelated works will be done.

Laws that regulate the NGO Sector are backdated. A new set of Rules or Acts should be
enacted addressing diverse types of NGOs and their activities.

A system of Social Audits may be introduced under the proposed NGO Commission or
the umbrella bodies of NGOs. Monitoring of NGO Activities

Thematic/program based umbrella bodies may be formed by the concerned NGOs for
ensuring self-regulation and due diligence.

Early steps should be taken for infrastructural improvement, logistic benefit, skill
development and capacity building of the NGOAB staff backed up by sufficient
resources and incentives.

4.2.1 Role of the Governing Body:

Executive heads relatives must not be included in the governing body. Short Term

Governing body should empower the chief executive to operate within the policy
guidelines set up by the Board. On the other hand the Governing body members should
perform their roles effectively so that the executive heads accountability is ensured.
Effective check and balance system must be enforced. Specific code of conduct of
governing body members should be available.

The founder of an NGO may hold the post of Chief Executive or Chairman/Member of
the governing body. In that case there should be an effective check and balance between
the executive head and the governing body. The chief executive may be changed as per
the governing bodys decision.

4.2.2 Decision Making Process:

Decisions should not be made by the executive head unilaterally. Stakeholders and NGO
workers participation must be ensured.



29

4.2.3 Financial Transparency:

Difference of salaries between higher and lower level especially field-workers should be
bridged. The information on the salary and other benefits of the employees must be open
for all.

The yearly budget of every program must be disclosed. In this regard stakeholders, local
citizen, journalists, researchers and government officials may be informed.

Enlisted audit firms must conduct the internal or external audit properly. If an audit firm
is found to be conniving with corrupt practices, the responsible audit firm must be
brought to justice.

4.2.4 Human Resource Development:

The NGO Commission may develop a standard set of policies and rules with regard to
human resource, gender, accounts, working hour, competitive salary and benefits and so
on. Every NGO must develop and adopt its own Code of Ethics and other policies.

There should be a cell to receive complaints from NGO workers and take proper actions
accordingly. This complaint cell may be set up in the NGO Commission and in every
umbrella body.

A set of rules and regulations may be developed for retired government officials who
intend to join an NGO.
4.2.5 Accountability to Stakeholders, Government and Donor:

The development partner, along with providing fund to a project, should monitor and
evaluate the activities of the concerned NGO. They may stop their fund immediately if
any irregularities are found.

The development partners should adopt and implement a policy of not receiving different
types of hospitality, such as food, lodging or gifts, offered by NGOs.

The information provided by the consultants, evaluators or auditors should be checked.





30

4.2.6 Program Implementation, Monitoring and Evaluation:

Monitoring should be strengthened to achieve the goals of the project. Short Term

NGO documentation process must be further improved, so that anyone may have a look
on it when necessary.

4.2.7 Access to Information:

All information of an NGO should be made accessible to the public, especially its
stakeholders. Information dissemination should be institutionalized rather than being
dependent on one individual.

Efforts should be made to develop its NGO website which should be updated regularly.

Conclusion:
This study revealed the fact that at present, for the betterment of the destitute and the helpless,
the untended population of the society, Non-Government Organization or NGO is much
acknowledged. It was proven that the active presences of NGOs are a boon for the overall and
social development of Bangladesh. The NGOs started in a war stricken Bangladesh with relief
and rehabilitation program. Right now they are omnipresent in Bangladeshs socio-economic,
cultural, geographic, family planning, education, health etc. The NGOs have proven themselves
as the true associates/partner of the government in poverty eradication and socio-cultural
development. In many cases (i.e. micro-credit) NGOs are more successful in some aspects of
development where the government is playing a secondary role.
In this country expansion of loan amount, loan activities, and success are needed for
poverty eradication. Moreover it is essential to establish a warm and dependable relationship by
setting aside different obstacles between Government and NGOs. In this case expansion of
Government-NGO partnership activities, opinion exchange/knowledge sharing at a regular
interval and developing contemporary strategies, ensuring accountability, and by staying above
differences in political opinions are absolutely essential for the sake of this country, for its poor
and forsaken populace.
However, some limitations was observed in the NGO effort to poverty eradication for i.e.
leaving out the ultra-poor, partial and sub-divided working periphery, area based differences in
activities/projects, differentiating outside target people and weak relationship, participating in
commercial activities, supporting political parties etc. If NGOs can overcome these limitations
then it can surely be hoped that they continue playing the role of savior of poverty eradication
and social development in Bangladesh and lead the country to sustainable economic growth and
development.

31

Appendix

References:
ADAB (Association of Development Agencies in Bangladesh). 2004. Directory of NGOs
in Bangladesh 20032004. Dhaka: ADAB
Government of Bangladesh. 2005. Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper: Unlocking the
Potential: National Strategy for Accelerated Poverty Reduction. General Economics
Division, Planning Commission, Dhaka.
Amin, S., A. S. Rai, and G. Topa. 2003. Does Microcredit Reach the Poor and
Vulnerable? Evidence from Northern Bangladesh. Journal of Development Economics
70 (1): 5982.
CDF (Credit and Development Forum). 20034. CDF Microfinance Statistics. Dhaka:
CDF.
Montgomery, H. and J. Weiss. 2005. Great Expectations: Microfinance and Poverty
Reduction in Asia and Latin America. ADB Institute Research Paper Series No. 63.
Manila.
Health Economics Unit. 2003. Bangladesh Health Accounts, 19992001. Report
prepared by Data International for Government of Bangladesh, Dhaka.
Chowdhury, A. M. R., S. R. Nath, and R. K. Chowdhury. 2002. Enrolment at Primary
Level: Gender Gap Disappears in Bangladesh. International Journal of Educational
Development 22: 191203.
ADB, 1999, A study of NGOs in Asia, Dhaka
NGO Affairs Bureau (2004): NGO Directory (2003), Published by NGO Affairs Bureau,
Prime Ministers Office, Dhaka-2004.
Shelly, Mizanur Rahman (1992): NGO Movement in Bangladesh, Working Paper,
Dhaka, Bangladesh.
http://www.ti-bangladesh.org
http://www.academicjournals.org/journal/INGOJ
http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=623224

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