Poverty Reduction and PRSP Process in Bangladesh: Rethinking the Development Agenda
Poverty Reduction and PRSP Process in Bangladesh: Rethinking the Development Agenda Paper presented at the Seminar on Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers, organised by ActionAid Pakistan Islamabad, Pakistan, November 5-6, 2003
This paper is a critical analysis of the Bangladesh IPRSP. The way poverty is conceptualized has major policy implications. Poverty originates in injustice rather than the poverty of resources, and thus the moving force, the focus and the intention of these development procedures must be clearly pointing to further social justice. This does not mean that poverty reduction/ alleviation as such should be erased from the Bangladesh's policy agenda. It means re-dimensioning this aim and dealing with it as a short and medium term measure while at the same time tackling more structural, strategical and long term issues. Focusing on social justice implies focusing on the redistribution of power within Bangladesh's society and in the world as a whole, and that should be the focus of the PRSP and the process should enable all stakeholders to participate spontaneously in articulating their perceptions and experiences in living in poverty.