Notun Jibon for the Rural Poor

  
 
Bangladesh has steadily improved its social and economic indicators, despite 146 million people with few natural resources, limited capacity. However more than half of the country’s population still lives below the poverty line, and about 80% of the poor live in rural areas. Floods and cyclones frequently cause severe damage to lives and livelihoods, especially to the poor, and most poor living in those areas. More than 60% of the populations in the vulnerable and most affected areas – northern and southern Bangladesh -are below the official poverty line. 

The Social Investment Program Project (SIPP) that started as a small-scale pilot in two of the poorest districts of Bangladesh—Jamalpur and Gaibandha has now expanded to 10 more districts affected by recent floods and the cyclone Sidr; and targets the hard core poor who cannot avail themselves of micro-credit. The program is now called Notun Jibon.

Notun Jibon is a Government-led project, co-financed by the World Bank ($18.3 million) has tested new community-based financing to improve access to local infrastructure and basic services for the hard core poor. It’s community driven development approach has helped the poor form their own institutions, and the project provides funds for investment and small-scale lending directly into the hands of the villagers.

The unique approach of this project has unleashed the potential of the rural poor in Bangladesh. In a span of 6 years, over 200,000 households (almost 2,000,000 people) in the poorest and disaster prone districts of Bangladesh have benefited from community infrastructure and productive investments (drinking water, access roads and bridges, access to credit, markets, skills and income generation); and another 150,000 households in the cyclone and flood affected areas have started receiving benefits. Notun Jibon has successfully demonstrated that the poor and hard core poor villagers have the capacity to prioritize needs, manage resources, and implement subprojects. It has also demonstrated the leadership ability of women, who occupy the majority of decision-making positions in the village institutions. 

Notun Jibon has expanded to meet the needs of rural communities devastated by the floods and cyclone of 2007. These new communities now covered by the Notun Jibon program will benefit from the approach, which will enhance their livelihoods and give them tools to diversify their livelihoods. In addition, community-based risk management strategies will be introduced to help communities hedge against future shocks from the economy or the climate. 

The second phase of Notun Jibon - Empowerment and Livelihood Project - will be initiated in 2010, and will expand to twelve new districts and broaden to deepen the achievements of Phase I.