The new Human Development Report has identified Bangladesh as a member of the group of
highlighted 18 countries in the world that have seen rapid progress in human development.The UN’s global development network — United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) — has
prepared the report for the year of 2012 which was released jointly with Economic Reporters Forum
(ERF) at Sonargaon Hotel on Friday.
UNDP country Director Pauline Tamesis, its assistant country director KAM Morshed, Dhaka University
teacher Dr Selim Raihan and ERF president Khawza Mainuddin were, among others, present.
The other members of the highlighted 18 countries include China, India, Malaysia and Vietnam, the
report said.
Speaking at the launching of the report, UNDP Country Director Pauline Tamesis said Bangladesh’s
progress is all the more remarkable given the exceptionally challenging conditions it has faced.
“What I want to note particular is that, in contrast to the emerging economic powers, Bangladesh’s
human development progress has been still stronger than the economic gains,” Tamesis said.
It also ranked Bangladesh 146th out of 187 countries on the basis of Human Development Index (HDI).
With 0.515 HDI value, both Bangladesh and Pakistan share 146th position. In 2012, Bangladesh’s
position was on 147.
Rapid human development progress in Bangladesh, India and other South Asian nations is helping drive
a historic shift in global dynamics, the report said.
Hundreds of millions of people are rising out of poverty and billions more are poised to join the South’s
fast-growing middle class, it said.
The report titled ‘The Rise of the South: Human Progress in a Diverse World’ tells the story of more than
40 developing countries that have made striking human development gains in recent years.
It attributes their achievements to strong national commitment to better public health and education
services, innovative poverty eradication programmes and strategic engagement with the world
economy.
“The South as a whole is driving global economic growth and societal change for the first time in the
centuries,” Miss Clark writes in the report’s foreword.
“Bangladesh, with much slower economic growth and half India’s per capita income, does nearly as well
and better on some indicators,” the report said.
It has sustained growth by increasing the rate of public investment and achieving great success in
textiles, it said.
By 2010, Bangladesh’s share of the world apparel exports had increased to about 4.8 percent from
about 0.8 percent in 1990.
In the past, Bangladesh was known to the rest of the world as a country of natural disasters, but it has
proved over the years that it has the courage and ability to take care of its own affairs.
The country has developed a model for disaster management and thus has significantly reduced its
vulnerability through a round-the-clock disaster warning system.
The country has been able to open windows of opportunity in the field of information and
communication technology for common people with establishment of union information centers in line
with the MDGs.
The Multidimensional Poverty Index, an alternative to income-based poverty estimation, shows the
proportion of the population living in multidimensional poverty is high throughout South Asia, with
the highest rates in Bangladesh (58 percent), India (54 percent), Pakistan (49 percent) and Nepal (44
percent).
Bangladesh has made impressive progress in human development over the last 5 years, showing
resilience and growth during a period of financial turmoil that crippled much of the world economy.
UNB
