DFID Minister witnesses aid effectiveness in Bangladesh
06 April 2009
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Mike Foster MP, Minister for International Development, recently visited Bangladesh to gain insight into the many ways in which DFID is working to improve the lives of some of the most vulnerable people there.
Whilst there, he visited the Chars – low-lying sand islands in the Jamuna River – and had the chance to talk to some of the
1 million people who have benefited from the DFID-supported
Chars Livelihoods Programme. As well as raising homestead land above the levels of the 1998 and 2007 floods, DFID Bangladesh also provides support to help the char dwellers build sustainable livelihoods.
He also saw how spending just £50 on building a permanent latrine for each
family can have a massive effect on reducing the spread of disease - and how
this can have many other positive knock-on effects on people's lives.
In Dhaka, the minister met some of the many street children who make try to a living at the central railway station. Thanks to DFID, these children are now able to have UK-funded lessons during the morning before meeting the long-distance express trains in the afternoon, to try and get work as porters. The lessons are conducted by peer-educators, many of whom are former street children themselves.
The visit finally included a meeting with the Governor of the Bangladesh Bank, to discuss the global economic crisis and DFID's support for digitalising the Bank's systems of cheque clearing, enhancing electronic payments and holding credit information. A new country plan has just been agreed, with a focus on tackling climate change, reducing poverty (particularly amongst the most vulnerable), enhancing growth and building up state institutions such as the police.
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