The next generation has to be even better than the last
Bangladesh has its sights firmly set on three major milestones over the next two decades: least developed country graduation in 2026, Sustainable Development Goal attainment in 2030 and becoming a high-income economy in 2041. Over the course of these two decades, the school children of today will gradually take over the responsibility of continuing Bangladesh’s progress as a nation. What can today’s policy-makers do to make sure that the next generation is equipped to face the challenges of a rapidly changing country in an increasingly complex world? …Read more >>
Social cohesion through education in Bangladesh
Bangladesh has had tremendous success in attaining its education goals. Policy interventions such as public–private partnerships and subsidy programmes have been the driving forces behind this. According to the intergovernmental body World Bank, net primary enrolment in 2015 was nearly universal, at 98%, compared with…
Can Bangladesh tackle violence against women through water and sanitation?
‘You just need to bear it,’ Salma’s parents told her when she sought to escape from physical abuse in her marital home. The social pressure Salma faced to not report the abuse she endured is alarmingly common in Bangladesh. In fact, almost three in four…
The future of the United Nations–Bangladesh relationship
In November 2021, the Government of Bangladesh and the United Nations co-signed an important policy document: the United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework 2022–2026 (the CF for short). This was the culmination of a process that had begun nearly 10 months before. The outbreak of…
Bangladeshi legislators can be the best ally of people with disabilities
Disability prevalence data varies dramatically in Bangladesh. This is because there is no reliable data tracking mechanism for disability. Bangladesh’s latest decadal census, from 2011, reported disability prevalence at 1.4%—of which 1.3% was female and 1.5% male. Meanwhile, the Global Disability Report of 2019 found…
The tiger and the dragon
‘A rising tide raises all boats.’ Former US President John F. Kennedy often used this phrase during the Cold War era to promote free market policies. Interestingly, it is borrowed from an old Chinese proverb. Unfortunately, Kennedy did not live long enough to see the…
What is Bangladesh’s new secured transactions regime?
In many developing countries, businesses are unable to get low-cost, long-term loans from private lenders. This has economic repercussions. When borrowers cannot use their assets to secure loans and cannot purchase goods on credit using the goods as security, loan interest rates tend to be…
Investing for people – A policy briefcase
Investment Foreign Private Investment Promotion and Protection Act Bangladesh enacted its prime foreign direct investment law, the Foreign Private Investment Promotion and Protection Act, in 1980. It was crafted to promote and protect foreign private investments in the country. The law says the government will…