He disclosed the plan at a roundtable discussion on energy security organised by the Daily Sun at East West Media Group Limited auditorium in Bashundhara Residential Area on Tuesday.

The state minister said providing new gas connections to industries remains suspended but the government will resume it only to the units inside economic zones in April.

The Daily Sun acting Editor Enamul Hoque Chowdhury presided over the discussion titled “Energy Security & Vision 2041” while the daily’s Executive Editor Shiabur Rahman moderated it.

The state minister said the government is going to introduce energy audit system with a view to ensuring efficient use of energy and power.

Mohammad Hossain, director general of Power Cell of Power Division, presented the keynote paper.

He said power production was 5,000 megawatt in 2009, when the Awami League-led government assumed office, but it jumped to 15,000 megawatt due to timely steps of the government.

About short-term, mid-term and long-term steps of the government, he said quick rental power plants have contributed to magical growth in power generation.

“Electricity coverage has increased from 47 percent to 80 percent. Number of power plants has grown from 27 to 81. Systems loss has come down from 17 percent to 13 percent,” he added.

He spoke of the need for diversification of energy basket by increasing production of solar power, hydropower and wind power.

He said the government has a target to raise power generation to 24,000mw by 2021 and 60,500mw by 2041 to materialise the vision of the government.

Attaching importance to energy saving, he said 1mw energy saving means 1mw energy production.

He said the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) has opened a new avenue for the countries of this region to share energy with each other.

According to him, energy supply at affordable cost in reliable and environmental friendly manner and equitable distribution are important to ensure energy security.

FBCCI President Md Shafiul Islam Mohiuddin said economic development of the country should be given priority while taking any plan for power generation.

BUET professor of Department of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Engineering M Tamim suggested that the organisations involved in power and gas generation and distribution present real picture of the sector for better future planning.

“Unless they provide the real statistics it will be very difficult to formulate flawless planning,” he said.

Enamul Hoque Chowdhury said the incumbent government made tremendous success in power generation and distribution.

“Power cut was a regular phenomenon before this government resumed office. But now there is almost no load-shedding,” he said.

Shiabur Rahman said the country has a target to be a developed nation by 2041, the time when gas resource is supposed to come down to zero level.

He said the government will have to make a policy to overcome the challenge to be created by gas shortage.

Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) Vice President Kamrul Islam called for a map to specify the places which will get gas and power connection on priority basis.

Bangladesh Rural Electrification Board Chairman Major General Moin Uddin, BGMEA Vice President (Finance) Mohammd Nasir, Bangladesh Auto Re-Rolling & Steel Mills Association Secretary General Md Shahidullah, Bangladesh Power Development Board Member Md Fakhruzzman and Director Kazi Afsaruddin, Bangladesh Independent Power Producers Association Secretary Abdul Halim and Bangladesh-India Friendship Power Company Limited Managing Director Ujjwal Kanti Bhattacharya also spoke at the roundtable.

Business leader at the event said many entrepreneurs have to count loss by investing in a place where gas connection is not available for long.

The post No new power, gas connection to units outside industrial zones appeared first on NGO News, Latest NGO News, Fund for NGO, NGO News Update.

In identifying the major economic challenges as regards the national budget 2017-18, the UO notes that waning capacity of the authority in implementing budget is looming large.
Both the collection of revenue and implementation of expenditure, especially Annual Development Program (ADP), have fell short of target in the current fiscal year.

The private investment stagnates, and public investment lacks quality resulting in cost escalation in projects. In addition, upsurge in illicit capital outflows bars capital formation in the economy.

Inadequate spending on social sector is likely to limit improvements in human development. Higher allocations for health, education and social security are indispensable to sustainable development.

Underperformance in external sector causes worry as current account balance records continual deficit and inflow of remittance declines substantially in recent times.
Recapitalization of state-owned commercial banks does not pays off as institutional fragility intensifies in the banking sector resulting in meteoric rise in the default loans.
Jobless growth menaces the fiscal discipline.

Youth unemployment takes its toll on the economy by limiting its capacity to capitalize on once-in-a-lifetime demographic dividend.
The causes of elapsing prospects are more of institutional. The gradual corrosion of institutions have constrained allocation of resources to be channeled efficiently into productive sectors in order for the economy to get higher returns in terms of expanded productive capacity, notes the UO.

The status of budget implementation is on the decline since FY 2010-11. Of the total budget outlay, 97.05 percent was implemented in FY 2010-11, whereas the rate subsequently decreased to 93.18 percent, 90.76 percent, 84.59 percent, and 81.59 percent in FY 2011-12, FY 2012-13, FY 2013-14, and FY 2014-15 respectively.

In terms of the current year’s status, the research organization shows that only 33.7 percent of the total government expenditure has been implemented during the first six months of FY 2016-17 while only 54.56 percent of the total annual development program (ADP) has been implemented during the July-April period of the current fiscal year.

Meanwhile, the collection of tax revenue lags far behind the target set in the budget 2016-17. Only 53.79 percent of the total target of National Board of Revenue (NBR) tax revenue has been collected during the first eight months of the current fiscal year.

Observing the shortfall in collecting revenue vis-à-vis the target, the UO finds that in FY 2016-17, the target of the collection of revenue was set at Tk. 242752 crore, whereas the actual amount of revenue collection has stood at Tk. 82987.57 crore during the first half of the current fiscal year, representing only 34.19 percent of the target compared to 37.05 percent in the previous fiscal year.

Taking account of unsatisfactory implementation of government expenditure, the research organization evinces that the total government expenditure has stood at Tk. 114730 crore during the first half and total ADP stood at 65083 crore during the first eight months of FY 2016-17 against the whole fiscal year’s target of Tk. 340605 crore and Tk. 110700 crore respectively.

Referring to higher rate of growth in non-development expenditure, the UO shows that while the rate of growth in non-development expenditure has stood at nearly 17 percent in the budget of FY 2016-17 compared to the budget of previous fiscal year, the rate of growth in development expenditure stood at 14 percent in the budget of FY 2016-17 compared to that of FY 2014-15.

In terms of fiscal deficit, the think tank finds that overall fiscal deficit stood at Tk. 3910 crore during second quarter of the current fiscal year (representing 0.2 percent of GDP) compared to Tk. 2300 crore (representing 0.13 percent of GDP) in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal year. However, the total fiscal deficit in the first half of FY 2016-17 stood at Tk. 15980 crore (0.8 percent of GDP), compared to Tk. 17400 crore (1.0 percent of GDP) in first half of FY 2015-16.

“The country’s quest for self-reliance based upon domestic resource mobilization has been marred by the policy shift towards ‘debt-financed-debt-trapped development financing.’ The current year witnessed the same level of debt dependence due to failure in providing strategic direction in overhauling the domestic resource mobilization to expand and increase the tax base,” notes the Unnayan Onneshan.

In the first seven months of the current fiscal year, total foreign aid decreased to USD 1464.88 million from USD 1754.92 million in the corresponding period of FY 2015-16, a 16.53 percent decline, due to a substantial decline in grants. For instance, grant receipts fell by 45.03 percent in FY 2015-16 compared to FY 2014-15, finds the think tank.

Pointing out the declining inflows of remittance, the research organization shows that remittance receipts decreased by 16.03 percent during the July-April period of FY 2016-17 and stood at USD 10287.23 million compared to USD 12250.83 million in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal year. On year-on-year basis, remittance receipts also decreased by 8.27 percent in April 2017 compared to April 2016.

A large portion of expenditure on consumption, education and health in rural households is financed by remittance. Decrease in inflow of workers’ remittance is therefore likely to exert an adverse impact on socioeconomic status of rural households, comments the UO.

Referring to the deficit in current account balance, the think tank finds that the current account continues on a deficit of USD 0.75 billion during July-January period of FY 2016-17 due mainly to a significant trade deficit and lower income from services and secondary income accounts. To deal with external sector’s underperformance, export diversification is indispensable, suggests the UO.

Observing poor quality of public investment and sluggish implementation in infrastructure development, the research organization evinces that during July-April of FY 2016-17, only 59.84 percent of total ADP allocation for roads and highways division has been implemented while ADP implementation rate stood at only 37.86 percent for bridge division.
Taking account of slow implementation against the planned duration of the infrastructure development projects and resultant rise in allocation than target, the UO comments that periodical increase in allocation for infrastructural projects implies rising cost induced economic rent, which has made the public investments inefficient.

The Unnayan Onneshan points out that private investment has remained stagnant and has stood at 22.07 percent of GDP in FY 2014-15 and 21.78 percent in FY 2015-16, while increase in public investment from 6.82 percent in FY 2014-15 to 7.6 percent in FY 2015-16 has not succeeded to create much needed crowding in for private investment in the economy.

In addition, lack of adequate capital formation due to large scale illicit capital outflows every year causes national savings and investment not to rise significantly. Highest estimates by the Global Financial Integrity suggest that during the period of 2005 to 2014, illicit capital outflow amounted to USD 7.5 billion every year on average. As the latest count shows that the amount of illicit capital outflow from Bangladesh was USD 9 billion in 2014.

Observing institutional fragility in the banking sector due to monumental rise in writing off of loans, meteoric rise in the default loans and nose-dive in risk and capital adequacy ratio, the research organization comments that the public in general has to pump their tax money to rescue the stripped nationalized commercial banks through recapitalization due to loots in these banks.

Pointing to the fact that Bangladesh lags behind its South Asian counterparts in social sector spending, the think tank expresses concern over inadequate development expenditure on health, education, and social security and welfare, and calls for channeling adequate resources into social sectors that give particular impetus to the improvement in human development.

Health expenditure assumes a declining trend in recent years resulting in high out-of-pocket expenditure in the sector. Development expenditure on health stood at 9.7 percent of the total development expenditure in FY 2009-10, which declined subsequently to 8.7 percent in FY 2010-11, 7.5 percent in FY 2011-12, 6.8 percent in FY 2012-13, 5.3 percent in FY 2013-14, 5.3 percent in FY 2014-15, 5.4 percent in FY 2015-16 and 5.5 percent in FY 2016-17.

In terms of education expenditure, the UO shows that development expenditure on education stood at 13 percent of the total development expenditure in FY 2009-10, which declined to 12.4 percent in FY 2011-12, 12.3 percent in FY 2015-16, and then slightly increased to 15.3 percent in FY 2016-17. Low allocation along with slow implementation will create skill shortages and unemployment in addition to deteriorating quality of education, adds the research organization.

Referring to the declining allocation for social security and welfare, the UO evinces that development expenditure on social security and welfare stood at 5.4 percent of the total development expenditure in FY 2009-10, whereas the allocation was 5.3 percent in FY 2011-12, 4.5 percent in FY 2012-13, 4.7 percent in FY 2013-14, 4.5 percent in FY 2014-15, 3.8 percent in FY 2015-16, and 3.4 percent in FY 2016-17.

Referring to Labor Force Survey data, the research organization finds that the number of unemployed population increased at an annual rate of 5.29 percent during the period of 2000-2010, and increased from 1.70 million in 2000 to 2.60 million in 2010 while 10.6 million people were day laborers who did not have job security.

Income inequality together with inequality in access to health and education, multidimensional poverty, and joblessness particularly among the youth as 9.1 percent of youth labor force (15-24 years) is unemployed is likely to undermine the development already achieved by the county, comments the UO.

In view of the present economic challenges, the research organization urges adoption of a medium-term strategy, encompassing employment enhancement and skill development programs, expansion of the tax base through higher revenue from income tax than from VAT, institutional reform in financial sector, increased private investment through improved business confidence, effective harmonization of macroeconomic policies, and development of a functional social security system.

The post A Pre-Budget Analysis of Major Economic Challenges appeared first on NGO News, Latest NGO News, Fund for NGO, NGO News Update.

Chair of the Least Developed Countries (LDC) Group, Gebru Jember Endalew, said “climate change is costing lives and livelihoods, particularly in poor and vulnerable countries so there is a need for urgent action by all countries. The LDC Group will continue to push for fair and ambitious action by all.”

“For many of our countries, keeping the global temperature rise below 1.5 degrees Celsius is a matter of survival. Therefore, we all have to work towards a cleaner, greener, low-carbon global society as soon as possible.”

“Protecting people, livelihoods and economies also requires adapting to the impacts of climate change that are already devastating communities, erasing hard-won development gains and forcing mass migration. In this regard, I am deeply concerned about the lack of available support for adaptation, leaving the poorest and most vulnerable in society to weather the worst impacts of climate change with the least means to cope. Meanwhile the Least Developed Countries Fund, a key source of support for adaptation planning and implementation, sits empty.”

“Many LDCs have made ambitious commitments under the Paris Agreement. However, these commitments cannot be implemented without substantial support, including technological and financial support. Many estimates suggest that more than $100 trillion is needed to transition to a global low-carbon society. The financial support committed by developing countries to date falls far short of this figure and is therefore woefully inadequate. The little that has nominally been made available through various funds and institutions continues to be inaccessible for our countries that the lack individual and institutional capacity to readily access those funds. In short, climate finance must begin to actually flow to the countries that need it and be scaled up drastically if we are to limit global warming to safe levels and avoid the most catastrophic impacts of climate change across the globe.”

“Despite the challenges LDCs face, we are leading through action, for example by building on the successful launch of the LDC Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Initiative at COP22. Through this initiative, LDCs are taking charge of their energy future and security and empowering our poorest communities to pursue sustainable development through equitable access to clean, sustainable and low-carbon energy.”

The LDC Group has already convened in Bonn for preparatory meetings from 1-2 May, to consolidate our positions and strategies ahead of the upcoming negotiations.

Significant pollution cuts and the transfer of finance and technology are needed in order to limit global warming to well below 1.5C, the limit identified by many scientists and social movements across the world.

The post Climate change negotiations in Bonn appeared first on NGO News, Latest NGO News, Fund for NGO, NGO News Update.

The incidence of major infectious diseases, including HIV, tuberculosis and malaria, has declined globally since 2000. SEA accounts for the largest number of new TB cases and 41% of the global TB incidence burden.

Maternal and child health are also amongst regional priorities. One of the highest rates of child mortality is in SEA where 1 in 19 dies before their fifth birthday and one in three is affected by stunting (WHO, 2015).

Challenges in achieving health SDGs have urged global and regional agencies to look for innovative ways to improve health systems and programmes. Technology and partnerships are paramount to ensure that desired universal health care access is achieved in an affordable and sustainable way.

Key decision-makers from the UN and government agencies, NGOs, Red Cross, research institutes and the private sector will gather at the upcoming Aid & Development Asia Summit to look at how technological innovations can improve aid delivery and health resilience in SEA.

Dr Thet Khine Win, Permanent Secretary of the Myanmar Ministry of Health and Sports will deliver a keynote speech at the Summit. Other specialists in the field, including Dr. Aye Yu Soe, Senior Public Health Officer, Three Millennium Development Goal (3MDG) Fund of UNOPS and Penelope Campbell, Chief, Health and Nutrition, Young Child Survival and Development, UNICEF will share insights on how to improve health systems and health financing in order to reduce maternal and under-five mortality rates, eliminate communicable diseases and increase access to healthcare services in the region.

Charles Nelson, Chief Executive Officer, Malaria Consortium and Daniel Crapper, Country Director, PSI Myanmar will share an update on regional health programmes and collaborations and improving access to HIV/AIDS prevention and counselling. Dr Tobe Makoto, Senior Advisor, Health Financing and Health Systems, Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), Dr Ni Ni, Country Director, Ipas Myanmar and Dr Sid Naing, Country Director, Myanmar, Marie Stopes International (MSI) focus on overcoming challenges of child and maternal health, especially in remote areas and temporary settlements and establishing robust medical systems to better support children and women.

Building on the success of the previous years, the 3^rd annual Aid & Development Asia Summit will take place on 14-15 June at the Myanmar International Convention Centre (MICC-2) in Nay Pyi Taw. Gathering 250+ high-profile attendees and 45+ speakers, the Summit is an exclusive platform uniting regional and global expertise, offering an unparalleled opportunity for knowledge exchange, cross-sector engagement and collaboration.

A participant of last year’s Aid & Development Asia Summit in Bangkok, Sammy Njoe, Regional Chief ICT at UNICEF says that “the Summit was very useful from a content perspective and networking opportunity”.

For more information about the Aid & Development Asia Summit, visit https://asia.aidforum.org

For any enquiries, please contact Alina O’Keeffe, Head of Marketing at Aid & International Development Forum (AIDF) at [email protected]

The post Aid & Development Asia Summit 2017 appeared first on NGO News, Latest NGO News, Fund for NGO, NGO News Update.

“The causes of elapsing prospects are more institutional. The gradual corrosion of institutions has constrained allocation of resources to channel efficiently into the productive sectors in order for the economy to get higher returns in terms of expanded productive capacity,” observes the last issue of the UO’s monthly Bangladesh Economic Update.

The Unnayan Onneshan notes that the stagnation in the ratio of private investment to gross domestic product (GDP) and ever increasing rise of capital flight, coupled with regulatory unpredictability in economic management have appeared to be the major challenge in the economy.

The think tank shows that private investment as percentage of GDP decreased by 0.04 percent on average since FY 2008-09. Private investment stood 21.87, 21.56, 22.14, 22.50, 21.75, 22.03, 22.07, and 21.78 percent of GDP in FY 2008-09, 2009-10, 2010-11, 2011-12, 2012-13, 2013-14, 2014-15, and 2015-16 respectively.

Taking account of the increasing amount of illicit financial flow from Bangladesh (USD 5409 5921, 7225, and 9666 million in 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2013 respectively), the research organization warns that national savings, which have declined since FY 2012-13 (30.53 percent in FY 2012-13, 29.23 percent in FY 2013-14, 29.02 percent in FY 2014-15 and 30.08 percent in FY 2015-16) may further decline in current fiscal year, and the targets of increasing private investment is unlikely to be achieved.

“The country’s quest for self-reliance based upon domestic resource mobilization has been marred by the policy shift towards ‘debt-financed-debt-trapped development financing.’ The current year witnessed the same level of debt dependence due to failure in providing strategic direction in overhauling the domestic resource mobilization to expand and increase the tax base,” notes the Unnayan Onneshan.

The think tank shows that the collection of total tax revenue as percentage of GDP has been declining since FY 2012-13. Total tax revenue as percentage of GDP stood at 9.74 percent, 9.69 percent, 9.28 percent, and 8.98 percent in FY 2012-13, FY 2013-14, FY 2014-15, and FY 2015-16 respectively.

The rate of growth in revenue mobilization has declined substantially from the level of the FY 2011-12. Actual mobilization of total revenue grew by 19.3 percent in FY 2011-12, whereas the rate of growth decline in the subsequent years and stood at 15.2 percent, 10.4 percent, 13.5 percent, and 13.8 percent in FY 2012-13, FY 2013-14, FY 2014-15, and FY 2015-16 respectively. Total collection of revenue during the first quarter (July – September) of the FY 2016-17 stood at Tk. 43539 crore against the target of Tk. 60688 crore, while the target of revenue mobilization for the whole fiscal year was set at Tk. 242752 crore.

Referring to the higher interest payment due to deficit financing induced increased government borrowing from both domestic and foreign sources, the UO shows that total interest payment increased by 4.87 percent during the first quarter of the current fiscal year compared to that in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal year.

Higher interest payments result in increasing non-development expenditure every year leaving the government unable to allocate adequately for financing for development in the country, adds the think tank.

Refereeing to a monumental rise in writing off of loans, meteoric rise in the default loans and nose-dive in risk and capital adequacy ratio, the Unnayan Onneshan observes that “the public in general has to pump their tax money to rescue the stripped nationalized commercial banks through recapitilsation due to loots in these banks.”

Referring to the status of low Annual Development Program (ADP) implementation, the UO presumes that public investment has not been successful to create multiplier effect in the economy because of institutional inefficiency which results in poor quality of investment.

Against the target of Tk. 123346 crore as ADP expenditure in FY 2016-17, 19.13 percent (Tk. 23594 crore) of the total allocation was implemented during the first five months (July – November) of the current fiscal year, whereas implementation of ADP during the corresponding period of FY 2014-15 and FY 2015-16 the preceding fiscal year was 20 percent and 17 percent respectively, finds the think tank.

As a result of deterioration in the balance of all four components of current account – trade balance, services, primary income and secondary income, the current account balance declined substantially in July-October 2016 compared to the corresponding period of the previous fiscal year. The current account balance exhibited a surplus of 1241 million USD in July-October 2015, whereas it shows a deficit of 16 million USD in July-October 2016.

Declining trend is also observed in the inflow of workers’ remittance in the first five months of FY 2016-17 compared to the corresponding period of the previous fiscal year. Inflow of workers’ remittance declined by 15.65 percent to 5208.12 million USD in July-November 2016 from 6174.59 million USD in July-November 2015.

A large portion of expenditure on consumption, education and health in rural households is financed by remittance. Decrease in inflow of workers’ remittance is therefore likely to exert an adverse impact on socioeconomic status of rural households, comments the UO.

Referring to Labour Force Survey data, the research organization finds that the number of unemployed population increased at an annual rate of 5.29 percent during the period of 2000-2010, and increased from 1.70 million in 2000 to 2.60 million in 2010 while 10.6 million people were day labourers who did not have job security.

Income inequality together with inequality in access to health and education, multidimensional poverty, and joblessness particularly among the youth as 9.1 percent of youth labor force (15-24 years) is unemployed is likely to undermine the development already achieved by the county, comments the UO.

In view of the present economic challenges, the research organization urges adoption of a medium-term strategy, encompassing employment enhancement actions, higher revenue collection through expanding the tax base, institutional reform in financial sector, increased private investment through recovering business confidence, effective harmonization of macroeconomic policies, and development of a functional social security system.

The post Medium-term Macroeconomic Challenges Loom Large appeared first on NGO News, Latest NGO News, Fund for NGO, NGO News Update.

The objective of the event was to sensitise owners and managers in Bangladesh’s apparel industry on including skilled workers with disabilities in the mainstream work force. The discussants of the event emphasised the right to work and employment of persons with disabilities as mentioned in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD). During the event, examples of good practices on employing persons with disabilities were highlighted.

Mr A B M Khorshed Alam, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Labour and Employment, Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh, emphasised in his speech that the apparel sector needs more skilled workers to cater to the services needed in the industry. He acknowledged the contribution of the sector in encouraging the training service providers to include persons with disabilities in skills trainings.

The Guest of Honour, His Excellency Dr Thomas Prinz, Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany to the People’s Republic of Bangladesh, highlighted the importance and advantages of an inclusive workforce by saying, “The common focus of German Development Cooperation and the Government of Bangladesh is on more self-determination and participation for persons with disabilities. This means not ‘offering services for persons with disabilities’ but enabling them to full participation in society.”

Dr Jochen Weikert, Programme Coordinator, GIZ, addressed, ”Through its Inclusive Job Centre, the PSES project matches persons with disabilities who are prepared to work in the textile industry with suitable training opportunities and encourages factory owners to employ them. At the same time, PSES targets factories that are interested in employing disabled persons and helps find individuals to fill relevant vacancies.”

Mr AHM Noman Khan, Executive Director, CDD, appraised the fact that more than 170 managers already committed themselves to address inclusion in their factories. CDD and GIZ are looking forward to continuing their support to these and other interested factories.

Special Guest, Mr Siddiqur Rahman, President, Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) said, “’Our experience says that a person with disability can perform even better and are usually more loyal to the factories. However, there are some challenges in employing disabled persons, for example, workplace cooperation and ergonomics. We need to overcome these with the support from all. We do also need special assistance to ensure a disability friendly work place. Our factories are individually trying to address all the areas and concerns, but they need more awareness and training to develop a culture of workplace cooperation.”

In a panel discussion and knowledge sharing session representatives from GIZ, International Labour Organization (ILO), BGMEA, CDD, Centre for the Rehabilitation of the Paralysed (CRP), Beximco Textiles, Posmi Sweaters Ltd and National Skills Development Council (NSDC) discussed the challenges of inclusive economic growth for the apparel industry. Equal access to dignified employment for persons with disabilities and the importance of vocational skills development were also broadly discussed.

Since 2014, GIZ made advisory services available for more than 175 enterprises in the RMG sector with the support of professionals and its partner CDD. GIZ also supported the Inclusive Job Centre (IJC) since 2015, which was established in the premises of the Centre for the Rehabilitation of the Parlaysed (CRP), Mirpur. IJC provided assessment, counseling, placement in trainings and employment, rehabilitation, assistive devices and demand based support for more than 450 persons with disabilities.

The post “Contributing to Inclusive Economic Growth in the Textile Sector for a Sustainable Development” appeared first on NGO News, Latest NGO News, Fund for NGO, NGO News Update.

Tahsina’s father was a trader of cow at the local market. In a business day, he makes a great loss in his business which cased of selling off their cultivable land, after that he remained sick, after three month sufferings Tofazzal Mridha father of Tahsina passed away, Tahsina’s mother had made a big loan for her father’s treatment. To repay the loan she was bound to sell their only asset home. Now their lives in their uncle’s home.

After the great shock, the family without an income survived on handouts and sympathy. Tahsina had no future and getting an education was beyond question. Whilst Tahsina under Help the needy charitable trust orphan sponsorship program, Tahsina is able to provide all the necessities that Tahsina’s mother once struggled to provide.

Tahsina making good progress in her study, now she has high hope to be a teacher in the future. Your generous sponsorship helps Tahsina’s education, clothing, food and health care. Tahsina and her mother’s life turned around from misery to one of hope and aspiration, all of which has been made possible with a regular support from Tahsina’s sponsor. The family grateful and thanks to help the needy charitable trust and RAF for such great and magnanimous initiative

The post Struggling life-story of Tahsina appeared first on NGO News, Latest NGO News, Fund for NGO, NGO News Update.

Rakib Hossain ::

The unemployment situation poses a precarious picture & largely explains the frustration & restlessness in the society. Self-employment and creating employment opportunity for the youth is a great challenge. Social business can mitigate the problem slightly. By investing in a social business venture or company create more employment opportunity. The objective of the venture or business is purely to achieve one or more social objective through operation of the venture more specifically reduction of poverty and creating employment opportunity but traditionally In capitalist economy, profit maximizing of shareholder is the mail goal of business operation

With the goal of achieving social welfare introduced another kind of business that recognize the multidimensional nature of human being.  The business is social business, According to Muhammad Yunus A social business is designed and operated as  a business enterprise, with product, services, customer, markets , expenses, and revenue. It is a no loss, no dividend, self-sustaining company that sells goods or services and payback investments to its owner but whose primary purpose is to serve society and improve the lot of the poor. The investors/owners can recoup the money invested but cannot take any dividend beyond that point.

Exclusive profit maximizing motives of capitalistic economy has been largely responsible for creating poverty. Poverty reduces with the augmentation in employment. To address the issue apparently introduced corporate social responsibility (CSR) in traditional capitalism business in order to enable it to protect the interest of the poor people. Even a business company which adopts CSR approach does not pay enough attention to CSR related activities because its prime goals is to maximize profits for its shareholders. As a results, the impact of CSR on poverty alleviation proven insignificants. Since The poverty is the most important case among several cause of increasing unemployment.

The alleviate poverty by creating new employment opportunity introduced another kind of business called social business. Entrepreneurs will set up social businesses not to achieve a limited personal gain but to pursue specific goals. Employment greatly depends on investment. Investment is the most vital factor for economic growth and development. Employment creates earning capacity and ensures workers entitlement on goods and services. According to the development thinkers it may work as a revolutionary tools in creating employment opportunity for youth through more and more investment in social business.

Author : Rakib Hossain; Monitoring and Evaluation officer, Help the needy charitable trust Bangladesh.

The post Social Business: A groundbreaking tools for reducing Unemployment appeared first on NGO News, Latest NGO News, Fund for NGO, NGO News Update.

The responsibilities, duties and qualifications for this position are described in the attached position description.

GENERAL: Winrock is a recognized leader in U.S. and international development with a focus on social and environmental issues. As a mission driven, field-based organization, we believe that sustainable development is inclusive and that complex challenges require integrated solutions. Winrock embraces continuous quality improvement and a culture of impact, accountability and entrepreneurship.

SALARY AND BENEFITS: The annual salary will be commensurate with qualifications and experience. Excellent benefits include life, disability and medical insurance; retirement; and other normal Winrock benefits.

Applicants should possess authorization to work by the Government of Bangladesh or the Government of Nepal. Winrock International is an equal opportunity and affirmative action employer. EOE/AA Winrock International is an equal opportunity employer 2 POSITION DESCRIPTION POSITION TITLE: Awards Officer 1 LOCATION: Dhaka, Bangladesh or Kathmandu, Nepal GROUP: Operations UNIT: Awards Management REPORTS TO: Associate Director, Awards Management POSITION SUMMARY: This position supports compliance management of a diverse portfolio of awards which includes contracts, grants and cooperative agreements. Monitor award related work flows and help develop and implement systems to strengthen compliance with award terms and conditions as well as applicable regulations and WI policy.

ESSENTIAL RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Reviews assigned documents prior to signature and works to ensure the best possible terms for Winrock International.

• Provides guidance and identifies training needs to ensure award functions are implemented consistently across the global organization.

• Coordinates with contract and program staff to develop, analyze, revise, amend, review and negotiate contract documents, including, contracts, grants, cooperative agreements and subawards.

• Reviews sub-awards and modifications as assigned, notifies Associate Director of problems and risks, and takes the lead in researching disputes concerning contractual issues.

• As requested, visits field offices to assess compliance and ensures correct systems and filing are present

• Remains current on changes within the industry through resource sites, publications, and continuing education, and provides training and refresher sessions on pertinent topics.

• Acts as the “compliance go-to person” and provides guidance and advice to program staff on compliance issues and questions.

• Vets all issues outside of standard policies and procedures with the Associate Director.

• Projects a qualified appearance and cooperative attitude, maintains high ethical standards of integrity; respects confidentiality in representing Winrock International to ensure a professional representation at all times.

• Additional duties as assigned

QUALIFICATIONS AND BACKGROUND:

Education:

• BS/BA in Business Administration, International Affairs, or related field, with 2-4 years relevant experience in a business setting or work in a regulatory environment; or MS/MA/MBA with 1-3 years relevant experience; or equivalent combination of education and experience

Experience:

• Work experience should include at least one year of experience in non-profit grants/contracts operations

• Knowledge of US Government grant and management regulations such as 2 CFR 200; experience with USAID, USDA, and/or US DOL funding strongly preferred.

Skills/Knowledge:

• Excellent oral and written communications skills including writing, editing and proof-reading in English required. • Demonstrated strong organizational skills, including workflow management, coordinating a variety of tasks simultaneously and demonstrating flexibility; juggle competing priorities while ensuring quality output.

• Ability to manage priorities while maintaining attention to detail in a fast paced environment.

APPLICATIONS: Applicants should go to Jobs page at https://www.winrock.org/join-us/careers/ to submit their application, cover letter and current resume by DATE.

The post WinRock seeks Awards Officer in Dhaka & in Kathmandu appeared first on NGO News, Latest NGO News, Fund for NGO, NGO News Update.

NGO News Desk

This program was named as “Tran Tori”. On September 2 and 3, members of the organization distributed the necessary medicines such as Flagyl, Napa, Oral Saline, Multi Vitamin and other necessary supplies for purification of water from Dokkhin Chandpur High School of Balirtek.

More than 500 people of the union were benefited by the supplies. Mentionable that, ‘Care for Lives’ is a student based Social Organization. All the Members of the organizations are the students of Bangladesh University of Professionals. The Founder President Sanjida Islam and Vice-President Md. Razit Rayhan were present at the school and distributed the medicines among the locals.

Also mentionable that a facebook group named ‘Sritimoy Manikganj’ had helped in collecting information by surveying the area and providing regional volunteers for successfully carrying out the program.

Radio 96.0 fm and Radio matrika helped Care for lives as their media partner.
They successfully finished the campaign and helped the poor people generously.

The post ‘Care for Lives’ distributes Medicines appeared first on NGO News, Latest NGO News, Fund for NGO, NGO News Update.

NGO News Desk

The aim of the Summit is to exchange best practice and lessons learned (including mistakes made) from recent disasters and conflicts, as well as explore innovations for better, safer and more efficient humanitarian relief, and facilitate high level networking for building and strengthening partnerships among public, private and civil society stakeholders.

More than 70 recognised experts will share updates on UN procurement strategy, innovations in data management and communication technology, best practice in humanitarian logistics, lessons learned from recent disasters, global initiatives in health resilience, good practice in emergency health & WASH, innovations in cash-based programmes, and financing of disaster relief projects.

This year’s programme consists of panel debates and interactive roundtable discussions to discuss the most pertinent questions around emergency response and resilience. The Summit features world-class keynote addresses including Harvey Johnson, Senior Vice President, Disaster Cycle Services, American Red Cross and Elizabeth A. Zimmerman, Associate Administrator, Office of Response & Recovery (ORR), Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

Humanitarian technology expert, Patrick Meier, Co-Founder, WeRobotics, Digital Humanitarian Network; Founder, Humanitarian UAV Network, who will deliver the keynote presentation on humanitarian technology and robotics and Dr Thomas R. Frieden, Director, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) who will discuss preparedness and response to Zika virus.

With over 8 hours of unparalleled networking opportunities and diverse exhibition area with innovations from over 30 selected product and service providers, the Global Disaster Relief Summit provides an interactive platform for stimulating cross-sector collaboration and high-level industry discussions.

Participants are also invited to join Virtual Disaster Simulation, an interactive learning lab, which uses virtual and live action role-playing to simulate post-disaster supply chains for key commodities to better understand and build a resilient supply chain. The session is hosted by NRS International and facilitated by the American Logistics Aid Network (ALAN).

Global Disaster Relief Summit will take place on 7-8 September 2016 at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Centre in Washington D.C. providing plenty of opportunities to exchange experience and ideas for developing technically sound international humanitarian and development assistance.

For more information about the Summit, please visit https://disaster-relief.aidforum.org

Join the conversation! Follow #AIDFDisasterRelief or @FollowAIDF

The post Influence the debate on global disaster relief and resilience appeared first on NGO News, Latest NGO News, Fund for NGO, NGO News Update.

NGO News Desk

The research organization reveals that the policy statement does not address the issue of weak banking and financial structure which is, as noticed in recent times, characterized by fraudulence, lax oversight, scam and illicit capital flight, disorganization, and captured governance.

Referring to stagnant private investment, the think-tank says that recent growth in private sector credit fails to boost private investment. Lack of business confidence in the economy coupled with recent rise in the incidence of terrorist attacks is likely to cause the stagnation to intensify.

In addition, the UO cautions that without increasing the quality, mere growth in private sector credit by the targeted level – 16.5% for the first half of the current fiscal year – may prove inefficacious in enhancing private investment and creating employment opportunities.

The Unnayan Onneshan points out that private investment has been remaining stagnant and has stood at 22.07 percent of GDP in FY 2014-15 and 21.78 percent in FY 2015-16, while increase in public investment from 6.82 percent in FY 2014-15 to 7.6 percent in FY 2015-16 has not succeed to create much needed crowding in for private investment.

The think-tank evinces that the number of unemployed population increased at an annual rate of 5.29 percent during the period of 2000-2010 and increased from 1.70 million in 2000 to 2.60 million in 2010 while 10.6 million people were day laborers who did not have job security. Taking this trend into account, the UO comments the country needs to increase employment opportunities by two percent in order to enter the middle income group by 2021.

Referring to increasing illicit capital outflow from Bangladesh, the research organization finds that during 2004-2013, illicit capital outflows amounted to USD 5587.67 million every year on average. In 2010, the amount of illicit capital outflow was USD 5409.24 million while the outflow increased to USD 5921.33 million in 2011, USD 7225.14 million in 2012 and USD 9665.80 million in 2013.

The research organization shows that twelve-month average consumer price index (CPI) inflation has assumed a slowly declining trend for the last couple of years. Average inflation came down to 5.92 percent in June 2016 from 7.28 percent in July of 2014. Food inflation dropped to 4.90 percent in June 2016 from 8.55 percent in July 2014 while nonfood inflation rose from 5.41 percent in July 2014 to 7.47 percent in June 2016. Core inflation that excludes both food and fuel components rose from 6.29 percent in July 2015 to 8.04 percent in June 2016.

The UO observes that the decline in deposit rate is higher than that in lending rate. The deposit rate and the lending rate decreased to 5.67 percent and 10.57 percent respectively in May 2016 from 7.71 percent and 12.84 percent respectively in July 2014. Consequently, the average interest rate spread decreased to 4.90 percent in May 2016 from 5.13 percent in July 2014.

In regard to increased non-performing loan (NPL) vis-à-vis the total loan in the banking system, the think tank finds that the ratio of gross NPL to total outstanding loans of the banking sector increased from 8.8 percent at the end of the second quarter of FY 2015-16 to 9.9 percent at the end of the third quarter of FY 2015-16. The ratio of net NPL also increased from 2.3 percent in the second quarter to 2.9 percent in the third quarter. Meanwhile, capital adequacy ratio (CAR) decreased to 10.6 percent from 10.8 percent during the period under report.

Referring to persistent deterioration in the financial portfolio of the state-owned banks, the research organization shows that the government allocates Tk. 2000 crore as investment for recapitalization in the budget of the FY 2016-17. This allocation implies inefficient use of public money as the investment for recapitalization seems to validate the disorganization and ineptitude in the sector.

The shortfalls in capital in the banking sector can largely be attributed to the inefficiency in the sector caused by slack surveillance, frequent incidence of scam and fraudulence, captured governance, and poor risk management, adds the UO.

Calling for a cautious harmonization of fiscal and monetary policies that would cause both the money and fiscal multiplier to work in the economy and channel adequate resources for the expansion of productive capacities, the UO urges for creating a stable investment climate that would increase private investment and thus cause the national output to grow at the targeted rate.

The post Business As Usual Monetary Policy Statement in Exceptional Economic Circumstances appeared first on NGO News, Latest NGO News, Fund for NGO, NGO News Update.

NGO News Desk

The data, assembled by monitoring the traffic and activities of everjobs.com.bd over the months of April, May and June 2016, reveals an increasing number of job opportunities offered by educational and training institutions in the country. “While the Manufacturing industry is still leading the market, we are starting to identify other industries and job categories that are playing an important role in employment in Bangladesh.” says Devendra Singh, Country Manager at everjobs Bangladesh.

“A good sign of diversification of economy drivers in the country”. However, the report also reveals that while more and more job opportunities are available within the educational sector, job seekers still prefer to apply for professional offers related to IT, Sales & Marketing and Engineering.

“There is a considerable gap between what companies are offering and what job seekers are willing to work in” adds Devendra, “the challenge now lies in finding a way to increase the interest of all those raising industries among the job seekers that are about to enter the professional world.” everjobs Bangladesh intends to circulate the Career Report to employers and job seekers on a quarterly basis.

It focuses on the industries and job categories of highest demand in Bangladesh, the skills most needed in the country and even the locations with the most job listings available. With job seekers and employers receiving this report, everjobs Bangladesh hopes to increase awareness to fields that weren’t necessarily considered before as it’s really important to know the job-rich path that are available.

“The goal of this career report is to share some of the interesting and useful data that is generated from our career platform with corporate recruiters. The report helps recruiters keep track of the latest developments in Bangladesh’s job market.” says Gijs Verheijke, CEO of everjobs Asia.

The post Career report shows good sign of Bangladeshi job market appeared first on NGO News, Latest NGO News, Fund for NGO, NGO News Update.

NGO News Report

Expressing its concern over the poor implementation of ADP during July-May period of the FY 2015-16, the UO shows that only 62 percent of ADP has been implemented during this period whereas for FY 2014-15, FY 2013-14, FY 2012-13 and FY 2011-12, the implementation status was 67 percent, 66 percent, 67 percent, and 70 percent respectively.

The think tank points out that during July-May of FY 2015-16, 75 percent of total ADP allocation for roads and highways division has been implemented compared to 76 percent for the corresponding period of the previous fiscal year. However, only 46 percent of the total allocation of ADP for bridges division has been implemented during July-May of FY 2015-16 compared to 44 percent during July-May of FY 2014-15.

Referring to the lower status of ADP implementation in social sectors during the first eleven months of FY 2015-16 compared to that in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal year, the Unnayan Onneshan demonstrates that ADP implementation status has stood at 41 percent for health, 60 percent for education, and 68 percent for social security and welfare during July-May of FY 2015-16 compared to 56 percent, 64 percent, and 67 percent in July-May of FY 2014-15 for health, education, and social security and welfare respectively.

Pointing out the poor quality of public investment in infrastructure development, the research organisation presumes that the construction of major infrastructure development projects is not likely to be completed by the planned timeline.

As regards the progress in construction of Padma Bridge, the UO finds the target of cumulative completion of 35 percent of work was revised at 20 percent in FY 2014-15 and the cumulative completion target of 45 percent was revised at 39 percent in FY 2015-16, which questions the effectiveness and proper utilization of public investment.

Along the same line, against the target of completing 12 percent of construction of Dhaka elevated expressway in FY 2014-15 only 5 percent was completed, whereas the target of completing 40 percent of the construction in FY 2015-16 was revised at only 10 percent implying unfeasibility of the target of finishing the construction by FY 2018-19.

Taking account of slow implementation against the planned duration of the infrastructure development projects, the UO comments that increase in allocation implies rising cost induced economic rent which has made the public investments inefficient. For instance, Bangladesh spends Tk. 59 crore (proposed) to build one kilometer of 4-lane highways whereas China and India spend Tk. 13 crore and Tk. 10 crore respectively.

Pointing to the fact that allocation of development expenditure for health assumes a declining trend in recent years increasing out-of-pocket expenditure in the sector, the think tanks shows that development expenditure on health stood at 9.7 percent of the total development expenditure in FY 2009-10 compared to 8.7 percent in FY 2010-11, 7.5 percent in FY 2011-12, 6.8 percent in FY 2012-13, 5.3 percent in FY 2013-14, 5.3 percent in FY 2014-15, 5.4 percent in FY 2015-16 and 5.5 percent in FY 2016-17.

As regards the allocation of development expenditure for education, the UO shows that development expenditure on education stood at 13 percent of the total development expenditure in FY 2009-10 compared to 12.8 percent in FY 2010-11, 12.4 percent in FY 2011-12, 13.1 percent in FY 2012-13, 13.5 percent in FY 2013-14, 15.4 percent in FY 2014-15, 12.3 percent in FY 2015-16 and 15.3 percent in FY 2016-17. Low allocation and slow implementation will create skill shortages in addition to deteriorating quality of education, adds the research organisation.

Referring to the declining allocation of development expenditure for social security and welfare, the UO evinces that development expenditure on social security and welfare stood at 5.4 percent of the total development expenditure in FY 2009-10, whereas the allocation was 5.3 percent in FY 2010-11, 5.3 percent in FY 2011-12, 4.5 percent in FY 2012-13, 4.7 percent in FY 2013-14, 4.5 percent in FY 2014-15, 3.8 percent in FY 2015-16 and 3.4 percent in FY 2016-17 .

The Unnayan Onneshan points out that private investment has been remaining stagnant and has stood at 22.07 percent of GDP in FY 2014-15 and 21.78 percent in FY 2015-16, while increase in public investment from 6.82 percent in FY 2014-15 to 7.6 percent in FY 2015-16 has not succeed to create much needed crowding in for private investment.
Observing the declining trend in national savings, the research organisation finds that total national savings stood at 29.23 percent of GDP in FY 2013-14, 29.02 percent in FY 2014-15, and 30.08 percent in FY 2015-16, and warns that such trend may induce national output to decline.

In addition, lack of adequate capital formation due to large scale illicit capital outflows every year causes national savings and investment not to rise significantly. Statistics suggest that during the period of 2004 to 2013, illicit capital outflow amounted to USD 5587.67 million every year on average. In 2010, the amount of illicit capital flow was USD 5409.24 million whereas the amount increased to USD 5921.33 million in 2011, USD 7225.14 million in 2012 and USD 9665.80 million in 2013.

Taking account of the unsatisfactory quality of public investment in physical and social infrastructure and current state of sluggish private investment due to infrastructure shortage and lack of business confidence, the research organisation emphasises that the government must focus on stimulating private investment and ensuring effective utilisation of public investment in addition to channeling adequate resources into social sectors that give particular impetus to the improvement in human development.

The post Lower ADP, Sluggish Private Investment and Macroeconomic Challenges appeared first on NGO News, Latest NGO News, Fund for NGO, NGO News Update.

They wanted to do something special for the deprived people in this Eid. So they made a plan of launching their First event before Eid. The Team ”Care for lives” targeted “Baganbari Slum” to execute their plan. They took donation from their university by arranging an “Iftar party”. Half of the donation was invested into iftar and the rest of donation was used for buying “Eid Bazar” and clothes for the poor people. Finally they finished their event successfully on 30th June. They provided 40 packets Eid bazar to 40 families of Baganbari Slum.

The packet contains food items- 1kg polao rice, 1kg sugar, 200gm Shemai and half liter fresh oil. They provided clothes to more than 120 people of that Slum. They will arrange more and more events for helping out the poor people and the street animals. Care for lives is looking forward to help the discriminated living creatures. They want help from people and media to run this organization for the well- being of the poor people. Their Tagline is – “We don’t just care for humans, We care for lives”

The post ‘Care for Lives’ donated food items and clothes in Baganbari slum appeared first on NGO News, Latest NGO News, Fund for NGO, NGO News Update.

It is wonderful to see this dedication recognised.” Of more than 500 development organisations worldwide, NGO ADVISOR placed BRAC first, based on its impact, innovation and sustainability. BRAC was praised for its holistic approach to fighting poverty, treating it as a system of interrelated barriers that must be addressed concurrently. The ranking also highlighted the organisation’s history of designing and implementing solutions at scale.

Other notable NGOs in the top 500 include Doctors Without Borders in the second position, Oxfam in fifth, Save the Children in the ninth, and Grameen Bank in the 12th position. NGO ADVISOR combines academic rigour with journalistic integrity and autonomy, evaluating each organisation based upon its objective merits. Co-founded by Jean-Christophe Nothias, a journalist formerly with The Global Journal, the rankings methodology was first developed in 2009. Over the years, Nothias enlisted experts at The University of Geneva and partners from the non-profit sector to improve the evaluation metrics.

Today, NGO ADVISOR presents its findings to an international audience of donors, volunteers, journalists, researchers, diplomats and non-profit leaders to showcase best practices and mirror the evolving values of the global community.

The post BRAC ranked number one NGO in the world appeared first on NGO News, Latest NGO News, Fund for NGO, NGO News Update.

According to World Health Organization, vaccine-preventable diseases are responsible for nearly 2.5 million deaths every year globally. Immunization could prevent 1.7 million deaths among children under 5 years of age.  Yet an estimated 130 million people in the South-East Asia region lack access to essential health services.

Leading health and vaccination experts from civil society, UN agencies, governments, investors, research institutes and the private sector will gather at the AIDF Asia Summit on 21-22 June 2016 at the United Nations Conference Centre in Bangkok to provide an update on health resilience and emergency response, including Health Programmes for Disease Prevention and Control in South East Asia.

Integrating immunization with other health services, such as postnatal care for mothers and babies and strengthening health systems so that vaccines continue to be given even in times of crisis are amongst key priorities for WHO, UNICEF, UNFPA, World Bank and UNAIDS. They also pledged to address underlying factors like nutrition, hygiene and sanitation, and to empower women through a cross-sector collaboration approach.

Dr AnurakAmornpetchsathaporn, Director of Bureau of Public Health Emergency Response, Office of the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Public Health, Thailand,has confirmed his participation as a keynote speaker at theAIDF Asia Summit. Improving community health through technologies and public-private partnerships as well as addressing the key stages for collaborative health innovation will be explored in a discussion with Sebastien Latouille, Delegate for Asia-Pacific, Telecoms Sans Frontieres, Martina Aureli, Business Development & Sales Executive, NRS International.

They join other confirmed speakers on health issues including:

• Dr Nyunt Naing Thein, Chief of Party, Thailand, International Rescue Committee
• Anna Hrybyk, Program Manager, Catholic Relief Services
• Dr Kulwant Singh, Chief Technical Advisor, UN-HABITAT
• To see full list of speakers, please click here

Discover latest trends and innovations in mHealth and their practical implications for humanitarian aid and development programmes with representatives of UNESCAP, USAID, Save the Children, UNOPS, IRFC, FHI 360, IRC, UNESCO, IOM, WFP, Habitat for Humanity International, World Vision, ADPC, GIZ.

The AIDF Asia Summit aims to foster technological innovation and tighter collaboration between various levels of government, aid agencies, UN, investors and private sector in order toaddressinadequate access to health and immunization services in hard-to-reach rural areas, increase awareness amongst vulnerable populations and introduce new vaccine to improve routine immunization services in the region.

AIDF would like to thank healthcare partners, including B Medical Systems, Johnson & Johnson, Sanofi Pasteur, SATMED and DanofficeIT. To find out more about our partners, or how you can get involved, please click here.

Tolearn more about health related issues in South East Asia and take action to make a difference, email Alina O’Keeffe at [email protected] with a request for participation.

The post Strengthening health resilience in South East Asia appeared first on NGO News, Latest NGO News, Fund for NGO, NGO News Update.

In the presence of Ms Nasrin Ara Surat Amin, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Social Affairs; Mr IkhtiyarAsnalov, Head of Delegation, International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) Bangladesh;Mr. Faruque Hassan, Senior Vice President, BGMEA and other guests, they presented findings of a research on the current health and socio-economic statuses of the supported 515 Rana Plaza survivors. Two separate researches were conducted on this particular issue. One of them was done by GIZ in collaboration with CRP and four other NGOs on 515 Rana Plaza survivors, and the other one was conducted by CRP alone on 509 individuals.

Till date, 509 survivors of the Rana Plaza collapse have been provided with treatment and 390 people with vocational training. It was revealed at the event that the majority of the supported Rana Plaza survivors are currently engaged in entrepreneurial businesses earning a substantial amount for their livelihoods. According to the survey, 71 per cent of the respondent of Rana Plaza survivors are earning at present, most of whom are running their own business, while six per cent have gone back to the Ready-Made Garments (RMG) industry. About 13 per cent of the respondents are currently jobless because of their fragile mental health. GIZ intends to support these marginalised people through CRP’s Inclusive Job Centre located in Mirpur.

In his speech, Mr Shafiqul Islam, Executive Director, CRP, emphasised on emergency rehabilitation support and long-term socio-economic reintegration assistance to the Rana Plaza survivors. CRP is committed to continue the need-based support as per the recent study findings.

So far BGMEA has spent Tk 15 Crore (approximately) for salary, treatment and rehabilitation of the victims of Rana Plaza collapse.

Dr Jochen Weikert, Programme Coordinator, GIZ, said, ‘‘We are glad to find out that most of the 515 survivors we supported together with our partners found their livelihoods and social inclusion. Now we use our learnings from the last three years to give hopeto other people with disabilities. With the establishment of an Inclusive Job Centre, we expand our work towards an inclusive workforce and equal opportunities in the RMG industry in Bangladesh.’’

A panel discussion followed by a discussion session gave the audience an opportunity to get an overview of the current statuses of the people affected by the Rana Plaza building collapse. Participants also included representatives from CRP’s Prosthetics and Orthotics department, different vocational training initiatives and organisations of people with disabilities who discussed their experiences with the guests.

Bookmarks containing stories and photos of Rana Plaza survivors were circulated among the guests. These bookmarks illustrated the efforts of GIZ, CRP andGanaUnnayan Kendra (GUK) over the last three years.

Currently the textile industry in Bangladesh offers many employment opportunities for persons with disabilities, considerably improving their circumstances by enabling them to participate in society. At the same time, there is an urgent need for suitably trained personnel in the industry.

Promotion of Social and Environmental Standards in the Industry (PSES), a joint project of the governments of Bangladesh and Germany, is addressing this situation with an “Inclusive Job Centre” that matches persons with disabilities who are prepared to work in the textile industry with suitable training opportunities and employment. This project is implemented by GIZ, which works on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).PSES targets factories interested in employing persons with disabilities and helps find individuals filling up relevant vacancies.

Inclusive Job Centre’s professionals have already assessed 220 persons with disabilities in the last four months. Among the assessed 38 were placed in employment in the RMG factories and six were placed in vocational skills training. Inclusive Job Centre has supported the Rana Plaza survivors in their employment in the RMG factories.

The post “Trigger for a better future” appeared first on NGO News, Latest NGO News, Fund for NGO, NGO News Update.

A mobile testing laboratory for waste water and sludge generated by effluent treatment plants in the Ready-Made Garments (RMG) factories was inaugurated on 18 April 2016 in Dhaka. This laboratory is equipped with sampling and measuring instruments and accessories and offers on-the-spot testing and sampling services for washing, dyeing and finishing plants in the RMG sector. With its technician and waste water expert team, the mobile laboratory will enable clients to take advantage of quality services at an affordable price.

The concept of the mobile testing laboratory was developed within the framework of a developpp.de project. This Public Private Partnership developpp.de was set up by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) to foster the involvement of the private sector at the point where business opportunities and development policy initiatives intersect. It is implemented by Promotion of Social and Environmental Standards in the Industry (PSES), a joint project of the governments of Bangladesh and Germany and implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH on behalf of the BMZ.

PSES is providing technical support to the mobile testing laboratory – such as developing training and awareness raising materials and providing the vehicle for the laboratory. Private partner TÜV SÜD Bangladesh (Pvt.) Ltd. is providing equipment and materials such as the mobile laboratory testing equipment, generator and consumables for the operation of the laboratory. They are also providing services such as testing, on-site training and technical advice.

The Department of Environment (DoE) will review the outcomes of the testing and the findings of the project because it provides the regulatory framework for waste water and sludge testing and disposal.

During the inauguration of the mobile testing laboratory, the keys to the vehicle were handed over to Mr Bratin Roy, Vice President,TÜV SÜD Bangladesh by the Deputy Head of the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany, Dr Ferdinand von Weyhe, in the presence of Md Muslehuddin, Deputy Chief – Planning, Ministry of Commerce,factory owners and representatives from garments buyers and service providers.

In his opening remark Dr von Weyhe said, ‘‘Consumers in Europe do care about the environmental conditions under which RMG is produced in Bangladesh. With the help of this testing van waste water can be controlled, thus providing a scientific basis to further improve water quality. Investment in environment can pay off. By the way, I am looking forward to that day, when children can swim in clean water – next to a RMG factory.’’

Then Dr Jochen Weikert, Programme Coordinator,GIZ, remarked “Some of the smaller garment factories may have effluent treatment plants in operation, but they lack the instruments they need in order to constantly control the treated water. With this mobile testing service, we specifically serve the smaller and medium-sized factories so that they can make sure their wastewater does not pollute the environment. Thus, the mobile laboratory is one step more towards a sustainable garment industry in Bangladesh, from which businesses, environment and people will benefit.”

The post Mobile Testing Laboratory Has Been Started appeared first on NGO News, Latest NGO News, Fund for NGO, NGO News Update.

Noting the linkage between expansion of credit and growth in investment, the Unnayan Onneshan cautions that sluggish rate of growth in private sector credit will further drag down investment and consequently slide down the expansion of the gross domestic product (GDP).

Pointing to the increased non-performing loans and low returns on asset and equity, the think-tank observes that the sector is inundated with severe structural rigidities resulting in the disappointment of risk management in the sector.

As regards the public and private sector credit, the think tank states that domestic credits experienced a decrease of 9.93 percent at the end of December 2015 over December2014 against the ceiling of 13.8 percent set for December 2015.

The rate of growth of credit to the private sector in FY’11 was 25.84 percent which drastically fell to 19.72 percent in FY’12and then further fell to 10.85 percent in FY’14.In FY’15 it slightly increased to13.19 percent where the target was set to 15.5 percent in monetary policy of July-Dec’15. In the first quarter of FY’16, the credit growth stood at 12.9 percent and in December 2015 jumped to14.19 percent(year to year basis) mainly due to a slight decrease in lending rate in second quarter of FY’16 and tranquil political situation.

The think tank evinces that the point to point inflation came down to 6.07 percent in January of FY2015-16 from 6.36 percent in July of FY2015-16 representing 0.29 percentage point decrease.

The UO cautions that continuous incidents of heist in the financial sector like recent theft from Bangladesh Bank, hall mark scam, BASIC bank scam,collapse of the share market, multilevel marketing business trapping people for excessive profit will makethis sector more vulnerable.

The research organization observes that captured governance through politically determined directorship for the nationalised banks, and family and friends domination in the board rooms of the private sector banks, meager actions against the perpetrators, and slack surveillance by the central bank hinder the maintenance of prudential system of management.

The spread of lending and deposit rate is stable hovering near 5 percent. In January 2016, it increased to 4.84 percent in from 4.77 percent in August, 2015. It was 4.87 in March’15 whichwas 5.15 percent in March’14. The rates of interest on depositor and lender were 7.26and 12.32 percent respectively in January’15 and stood at 6.21 percent and 11.05 percent respectively in June’16. Of late the lending rate is on slight decrease, the rate is still too high to attract the small and medium investors and enterprises in the economy.

Referring to the piling up of excess liquidity in the banks due to the dispirited investment environment in the country, the Unnayan Onneshan reckons 7.41 percent increase in the excess of liquidity between the periods of June’15 and December’15. Excess of liquidity in the banking system amounted to Tk. 120678.9 crore at the end of Dce’15, whereas the amount was Tk.1123851 crore in June’15.

Besides the incidences of large scale scams, the risk management has weakened to a dismal proportion. The research organisation evinces that the non-performing loans have increased to 10.5 percent in March 2014 from 8.9 percent in December 2013.

Pointing to the incapacity of the banks to recover loan, UO shows that the classified loan and written-off bad debt both are increasing. The classified loans increased to 54700 crore in the July- September quarter of FY 2015-16 from Tk.52500crore in the March-April quarter of FY 2014-15; representing an increase of 7.41 percent. On the other hand, written-off bad debt increases by 17.13 percent from Tk. 321.1 billion in June’14 to Tk. 376.5 billion in June’15.

The performance of the banking sector in regard to risk management has been deteriorating since FY2013. Returns on asset (ROA) and capital adequacy ratio are continuously decreasing after 2011. In 2011, overall ROA which measures the efficiency of the management in generation of earning to assets in the banking sector was 1.5 percent whereas it stood at 0.64 percent in 2014. In June of FY 2014-15, the ROA decreased to 0.47 percent and Return on Equity (ROE) decreased from 8.09 percent to 6.61 percent.

Examining the balance sheet of BB, UO finds that BB incurs a loss of Tk. 26.24 billion in FY’15 where it enjoyed profit of Tk. 33.5 billion in the previous fiscal year.

The Unnayan Onneshan recommends improvement in supervision and regulatory capacity of the central bank and streamlining of enforcement of prudential guidelines in order to check the incidences of scams and fraudulence and thus to ensure efficacy of risk management in the banking system.

The post Institutional Fragility of Central Banking in Bangladesh appeared first on NGO News, Latest NGO News, Fund for NGO, NGO News Update.

Between 1990 and 2015, 2.6 billion people gained access to improved drinking water sources, yet 700 million people still do not have access to clean and safe water. The 2016 United Nations World Water Development Report estimates that some 2 billion people require access to improved sanitation, with girls and women especially disadvantaged. Despite progress, 2.4 billion are still using unimproved sanitation facilities, including 946 million people who are still practicing open defecation.

Addressing challenges of access to safe drinking water and sanitation, water quality and safety, as well as examining solutions for water treatment and wastewater management in rural areas and during crisis are the focus of the vital panel discussion on Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Innovations & Good Practice at the upcoming AIDF Asia Summit on 21-22 June 2016 at the United Nations Conference Centre in Bangkok, Thailand.

Water and sanitation are crucial for ensuring effective health response during emergency situations. Hear from Dr AnurakAmornpetchsathaporn, Director of Bureau of Public Health Emergency Response, Office of the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Public Health, Thailand, who has confirmed to speak at the AIDF Asia Summit.

WASH Partnership & Initiatives will be explored in a roundtable discussion lead by LalithDassenaike, Regional Manager & Coordinator GWP Advisory Centre, International Water Management Institute (IWMI) Sri Lanka.

They join water experts from civil society, UN agencies, governments, investors, research institutes and the private sector to provide an updated on Health Programmes for Disease Prevention and Control in South East Asia. Current health threats, regional health programmes and vaccinations, testing, monitoring will be amongst the topics for discussion.

Providing adequate drinking water supplies, disease-preventing sanitation facilities, early warning and resilience for water-related disasters remain major challenges. Therefore improved technologies, better research as well as closer collaboration and partnership between various levels of government, aid agencies, UN, investors and private sector are critical.

Dr Shamika Sirimanne, Director of Information and Communications Technology and Disaster Risk Reduction Division, UN ESCAP commented on previous AIDF Asia Summit:

“I think AIDF summit is very good summit and has brought together very different stakeholders across government, UN agencies, private sector & NGO’s into one platform to discuss the frontier developments in addressing disaster reduction and other sustainable development agendas. Going forward UN will come with sustainable development and what we are discussing in the meeting that AIDF has organised is how especially the Asia Pacific region and South East Asia can prepare for achieving sustainable development goals that the UN will be bringing in near future”.

Hear first-hand from experts at UNESCAP, USAID, Save the Children, UNOPS, IRFC, FHI 360, IRC, UNESCO, IOM, WFP, Habitat for Humanity International, World Vision, ADPC, GIZ, and many more.

AIDF aims to bring all actors together in one room to tackle these important issues on water security, sanitation and disaster management.

To learn more about water related issues in South East Asia and take action to make a difference, visit https://goo.gl/w6CnAL or email Alina O’Keeffe at [email protected] to request participation.

The post AIDF Asia Summit 2016 to focus on improving health resilience appeared first on NGO News, Latest NGO News, Fund for NGO, NGO News Update.

NGO News Report

The two-day long workshop was organized at Bangabandhu International Convention Centre (BICC), Dhaka.

The workshop featured the findings from the ‘Documentation of UPPR Learning and Good Practices’ – the country’s single largest urban poverty reduction project which was implemented during 2008-2015. UNDP hosted the two days long regional exchange workshop to validate multiple lessons learned so far prioritizing the need to expose the good practices to national and international high level specialists, receiving feedback and consolidating the findings through an intense exchange among the actors.

In her welcome address, Ms.Pauline Tamesis, Country Director of UNDP noted that there is no one-stop complete recipe to urban poverty reduction and development. Every settlement has its particular characteristics and that is why it is imperative for all of us to learn from good practices and models that have been successful in UPPR.

She also said “If we can get urban development right, we can create positive economic opportunities, improve social inclusion, protect local eco-systems, and build overall resilience of the people.”

Mr Abdul Malek, Secretary, Local Government Division (LGD), MoLGRD&C chaired the opening session with the distinguished guests –Ms SomsookBoonyabancha, Secretary General, Asian Coalition for Housing Rights (ACHR), Bangkok, Thailand, Mr. R Parthasarathy, Director,Gujarat Institute of Development Research, India and Urban  Knowledge Network of Asia, UKNAand Professor Nazrul Islam, Honorary Chairman, Centre for Urban Studies (CUS), Dhaka.

Mr. Abdul Malek, Secretary, Local Government Division said, “A partnership between the Government of Bangladesh, UNDP and UK Aid, UPPR has reduced urban poverty on a scale never before witnessed in Bangladesh. The results have been significant, ranging from improved infrastructure, women’s empowerment and community-led development planning.”

Ms SomsookBoonyabancha emphasized on recognising poverty as a structural issue and that change should be in the hands of the people. Furthermore, she noted that importance of housing development and land security for poor people and celebrated the successes of UPPR’s Community Housing Development Fund (CHDF) for its innovative work in communities.

Presenting the UPPR Learning, Best Practices and Processes, Professor Yves Cabannes, Professor Bartlett Development Planning Unit, University College London noted that UPPR has been hugely and broadly innovative. He also stressed the importance for building long term relationship between communities and LGIs and urban poverty reduction programmes need to shift from neighbourhood/slum scale to city-wide scale.

He also added, “The new Agenda SDG 2030 reflects the strong role of our urban centres. Not only is SDG 11 dedicated to our cities and towns; but in no less than five other goals and forty targets, urban areas are part of the solution.”

The regional exchange will engage community people, high profile national and international experts to validate the lessons learnt and good practices from the UPPR project implemented in 23 cities/towns across Bangladesh.

The post Regional exchange on urban poverty reduction in Bangladesh organized by UPPR appeared first on NGO News, Latest NGO News, Fund for NGO, NGO News Update.

The aim of this event was to sensitise Bangladesh’s Readymade Garments (RMG) industry on including skilled workers with disabilities in the mainstream workforce. The “International Day of Persons with Disabilities” is globally celebrated on 3 December and this year’s theme is “Inclusion Matters: Access and Empowerment of People of all Abilities”.

The prime objective of this event was to inaugurate “Champions of Inclusion”- a platform of RMG factory owners of Bangladesh to promote the inclusion of persons with disabilities in the mainstream workforce. GIZ has organised this event in cooperation with Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA), Centre for Disability in Development (CDD) and Centre for the Rehabilitation of the Paralysed (CRP).

During this event, the RMG factory owners were sensitised on national policies and international standards governing the economic inclusion of persons with disabilities through presenting success stories of workers with disabilities. There was also a discussion session, where Mr Khorshed Alam, Chief Executive Officer of NSDC, and Mr Syed Ahmed, Inspector General (Additional Secretary), Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments (DIFE) along with RMG workers with disabilities and owners of RMG factories took part. It was discussed in the session that, equal access to dignified employment for persons with disabilities is currently being promoted by several national and international policies and documents.

In collaboration with Government of Bangladesh, NGO partners and private sector, the primary objective of the Inclusive Skills Development component is including persons with disabilities in the mainstream workforce of Bangladesh’s RMG industry by providing disability inclusive skills training, ensuring sustainable employment and promoting equal opportunities for all.

The “Bangladesh Rights and Protection of Persons with Disabilities Act” 2013”, calls for action to create work and employment opportunities for persons with disabilities in public and private sectors. The Government of Bangladesh has already signed and ratified the “UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD)” in 2007. Article 27 of the convention states that parties recognise the rights of persons with disabilities to work on an equal basis with others. So far, ISD has completed auditing in 92 RMG factories for barrier-free access and disability inclusive HR policies.

In the presence of the Chief Guest, Honourable State Minister, Md Shahriar Alam, M.P., Ministry of Foreign Affairs; the Guest of Honour, His Excellency, Dr Thomas Prinz, Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany to the People’s Republic of Bangladesh; and the Special Guest, Honourable Mayor, Dhaka City Corporation-North, Mr Annisul Huq; along with the Special Guest, Mr Mohammed Nasir, Vice President (Finance), BGMEA, the logo of “Champions of Inclusion” was unveiledin front of the leading RMG business owners and related stakeholders in Bangladesh.

Change Agents: owners from Bangladesh Readymade Garments who responded to the calls for action at the event were- Bitopi Group, Fakhruddin Textiles Ltd, Urmi Group, Saiham Knit Composite Ltd, Vintage Denim Ltd, Pandora Associates Ltd, Viyellatex Group, Mohammadi Group, Pride Group, Evergreen Sweaters Ltd, Interstoff Group, and Renaissance Group & Sweater Makers Ltd.

The post ‘Inclusion Matters: Looking Towards 2021’ appeared first on NGO News, Latest NGO News, Fund for NGO, NGO News Update.

The Summit was founded in 2009 by David Jones and Kate Robertson, a UK-based non-profit organization that gathers together the brightest young people from all countries around the world, empowering them to make lasting connections to create positive change. The One Young World, hosted this year by the Governor of Bangkok and the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration, who welcomed the audience at the opening ceremony.

In his speech Professor Yunus told the young people that they are the most powerful generation in the history of humankind and had all the power and creativity to create a world with three zeroes – zero poverty, zero unemployment and zero net carbon emissions. Professor Yunus arrived on stage to standing ovations from the 1300 strong audience.

The other two key note speakers at the opening were 7th UN Secretary General Kofi Annan and rocker turned poverty activist Sir Bob Geldof. Professor Yunus, Kofi Annan and Bob Geldof were joined on stage by Counselors to the young delegates from around the world which include luminaries from around the world including Avatar-famed Hollywood producer Jon Landau and legendary cricketer Steve Waugh.

The One Young World Summit 2015 focuses on social issues such as environment, women’s empowerment, education, youth unemployment and role of global business. The summit is being attended by 1,300 young leaders from 196 countries across the world, including a 10-member delegation from Bangladesh.

A team of ten bright young Bangladeshis, nine of whom are young women, joined Professor Muhammad Yunus to attend the One Young World Summit, selected by Yunus Centre through a competitive selection process organized over several months. They are working in the field in youth development, climate change, human rights among others. Executive Director of Yunus Centre, Lamiya Morshed will lead the delegation to Bangkok.

This is the third year that the OYW has sponsored a ten member team to attend the Summit with Professor Yunus. Last year’s delegation attended the Summit in Dublin, Ireland.

On the second day of the Summit Professor Yunus will address a special plenary session on social business. There will also be presentation of social business plans by four teams of Thai social entrepreneurs who are the finalists in the Thai Young Leaders Program organized by Thai Social Enterprise Office. The program included more than 100 social business designs from around the country. Professor Yunus and his team have been invited to judge the social business competition to choose the winner who will be awarded two million baht to initiate their social business.

The post Dr. Yunus addresses 1,300 Youth leaders at One Young World Summit in Bangkok appeared first on NGO News, Latest NGO News, Fund for NGO, NGO News Update.

NGO News Report

Bangladesh needs $2.6 Billion per year by 2030. In total, developing countries needs least $50 billion per year by 2020, and at least $150 billion per year by 2025 from rich countries in public financing to climate adaptation.

These are the outcome of ActionAid’s new report named “Mind the Adaptation Gab”, just before COP21. The report released globally on 17th November, 2015 is among the first to calculate the actual amount that rich countries should pay as grant. Grant-based adaptation financing to developing countries is paramount.

While rich countries are hesitant to increase the total amount of grant-based finance provided to cope with climate change and adaptation in developing countries; Bangladesh needs 40 billion USD from 2015 to 2030 to address adverse impacts of climate change, according to the Government of Bangladesh’s INDC published in September 2015.

“The impacts of climate change on vulnerable communities in Bangladesh and other developing countries are already massive. Approaching COP21 in Paris we need to see a road map that shows the scaling-up of public finance to at least $50 billion per year by 2020, and at least $150 billion per year by 2025, so that developing countries like Bangladesh can start implementing the adaptation work that is so urgently required, says”Farah Kabir, Country Director, ActionAid Bangladesh.

In the report, Mind the Adaptation Gap from ActionAid International asserts rich countries’ financial responsibility to support developing nations to adapt to the climate crisis. The report is based on investigation in six countries is the first to calculate the actual amount that rich countries should give based on estimates for future global adaptation need, and to compare this to their adaptation finance contributions so far.

The calculations show that rich countries are falling well short of providing adequate money to help people in poor countries already suffering the harsh impacts of climate change.
The report finds:
The USA needs to increase its contributions by more than 154 times, from the US$0.44bn it gave in 2013 to a fair share of US$67.5bn in 2025.
France, host of December’s landmark climate conference COP21, needs to increase its contributions by more than 75 times to meet its fair share, from the US$0.07bn in gave in 2013 to US$5.5bn in 2025
·European Union members collectively need to increase contributions by more than 11 times to meet their fair share, from US$3.2bn in 2013 to US$36.9bn in 2025.
Australia needs to increase its contributions by 20 times to meet its fair share, from US$0.22bn in 2013 to US$4.4bn in 2025.
The rich and emerging economies contribute to almost 80% of the global emission where Bangladesh contributes only about 0.16% (0.4 tonnes per capita)- this is almost negligible considering any calculation especially population and development needs.

According to the report, Rich developed countries, which have produced the majority of greenhouse gas emissions in the earth’s atmosphere and have the most historical responsibility for climate change, must acknowledge their obligation to support developing countries to adapt to climate change impacts. This must be done through providing means of implementation such as climate finance, technology transfer and capacity building.

The report comes as world governments prepare for the UN climate conference COP21 in December where a landmark global deal on climate is expected to be reached.

“It not fair Adequate grant-based, not loan based climate finance will be a key barometer of success for the world’s leader at the climate summit in Paris next month. Rich countries must deliver their fair shares of adaptation finance in the new global deal’, says Farah Kabir

Report says, Developing countries are particularly vulnerable to climate change. Adaptation in these countries will be challenging, costly, and must take place in addition to ongoing development efforts. There is still a great deal of assessment, trial and learning to be done with regard to adaptation. Investment in technology, communications, infrastructures, institutions, training, outreach and many other approaches will all be required

The post Developing countries need 150 billion USD per year for climate adaptation by 2025 appeared first on NGO News, Latest NGO News, Fund for NGO, NGO News Update.

NGO News Report

The current account balance stood at USD 1406 million in FY 2013-14, whereas the balance became negative and stood at USD – 1645 million in FY 2014-15. The deficit in trade balance increased significantly and stood at USD 9917 million in FY 2014-15, whereas the deficit was USD 6794 million in FY 2013-14.

In line with recent decline in total import, import of capital machineries is also on the decline implying the lack of entrepreneurship and productive capacity expansion, which together with current unemployment of large productive capacities in manufacturing sector may cause the rate of growth in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) not to reach the target.

Export earnings declined by 13.91 percent in September 2015 compared to the month of August 2015 and stood at USD 2.37 billion. In addition, export earnings fell by 6.98 percent in September 2015 compared to that in September 2014. However, latest statistics suggest exports fell short of target by 3.73 percent during July-October of 2015-16.

Total import payments during the period of July-August 2015 decreased by 2.98 percent and stood at USD 6.56 billion compared to USD 6.76 billion during the corresponding period of 2014. The import of capital machineries declined by 30.85 percent during the period of July-August 2015 and stood at USD 416.3 million compared to USD 602 million in July-August 2014.

Noting large imbalance in service in the balance of trade, the UO finds a gap of USD 4099 million in FY 2013-14 and USD 4628 million in FY 2014-15. In FY 2013-14 and FY 2014-15, the amount in credit in service was USD 3115 million and USD 3017 million respectively, whereas the amount in debit was USD 7214 million and 7645 million respectively.

Referring to declining rate of growth in inflows of remittance, the think tank shows that the inflow of remittance declined by 3.08 percent and amounted to USD 2584.58 million during the period of July-August of FY 2015-16 compared to USD 2666.84 million during the corresponding period of FY 2014-15.

Referring to the decline in disbursement of foreign aid, the research organization demonstrates that total foreign aid disbursements during the period of July- September of 2015-16 decreased by USD 0.11 billion or 17.66 percent and stood at USD 0.50 billion compared to USD 0.61 billion during July-September of FY 2014-15. Net receipts of foreign aid were also lower and stood at USD 0.26 billion in July-September of FY 2015-16 compared to USD 0.29 billion in the corresponding period of FY 2014-15.

As regards unsatisfactory inflow of FDI, the think tank shows that inflow of FDI decreased to USD 1480.34 million in FY 2013-14 from USD 1730.63 million in FY 2012-13, although FDI inflow reached USD 1833.87 million in FY 2014-15. Such inadequate inflow of FDI into Bangladesh in comparison with other countries of the same economic characteristics can be largely attributed to lack of infrastructural facilities and business confidence in the country, adds the UO.

Calling for a thorough reexamination of the current trade and industrial policies to address the structural bottlenecks, the UO urges for the adoption of new strategies aimed at expanding country’s productive capacities that enhance utilization of productive resources through efficient entrepreneurial capabilities and increased production linkages.

The post External Sector: Recent Trends and Challenges appeared first on NGO News, Latest NGO News, Fund for NGO, NGO News Update.

The seminar was moderated by Rezaul Karim Chowdhury of Equity and Justice Working Group Bangladesh (EquityBD), other speakers of the seminar were Dr Golam Rabbani of Bangladesh Centre for Advance Studies (BCAS), Dr Sharmind Neelormi and Ziaul Haque Mukta of Campaign for Sustainable Rural Livelihood (CSRL), Dr Abdul Matin of Bangladesh Poribesh Andolon (BAPA), Qumrul Islam Chowdhury, General Secretary National Press Club and President Forum of Environment Journalist Bangladesh (FEJB), Kawser Rahman, President Bangladesh Climate Change Journalist Forum (BCJF), Sayed Jahangir Hossain of Coastal Development Partnership (CDP), Sajid Raihan, Deputy Director Action Aid Bangldesh and Board Member CANSA, Badrul Alam of Bangladesh Krishok Forum and Aminur Rasul of Unnayan Dhara. Syed Amunil Haque of EquityBD has presented key note presentation.

In key note presentation Sayed Aminul Haque EquityBD urged four points in respect of SDG implement, which are (i) uphold the primacy of human rights, (ii) tackle inequality and the over concentration of wealth, (iii) rain in corporate power and (iv) stop militarization and war. Dr Abdul Matin of BAPA and Kawser Raham of BCJF criticized present Forest and Environment Minister role in last Lima Climate Conference, as they said it was loss of Bangladesh achievements of past decades leading image in climate negotiations, which was influenced by consultants and bureaucrats who work not for the interest of people, and the Minister also avoided the tradition of inclusive and transparent process Bangladesh team leaded by previous Forest and Environment Minister and Dr Quazi Kholiquzzaman country’s lead economist and environment scientist.

In summing of the presentations and deliberations of the seminar, Ziaul Haque Mukta of CSRL, and Rezaul Karim Chowdhury of EquityBD mentioned that in Lima the Bangladesh delegation did not followed Prime Minister position, even they also criticized Bangladesh representative role in Green Climate Fund (GCF) who did not oppose loan provision for Least Developed Countries (LDC) from GCF, Prime Minister position was declared in parliament that Bangladesh can not accept loan for climate adaptation as Bangladesh is not at all responsible for climate changes. They proposed five points demand in this regard (i) Prime Minister (PM) to lead the climate delegation preparation, position and all process which should be inclusive and transparent, (ii) delegation must demand a legally binding climate agreement, (iii) developed countries must commit and enhance their target so that there will be global temperature within 2 degre celcious by the year 2100, at present rate which suppose to cross 6 degree, which will be huge catastrophes for the earth, (iv) Bangladesh must demand a work program on climate migration in view of Cancun agreement para 14 f, (v) For mitigation and adaptation for Country like Bangladesh and other LDCs and MVC there must be IPR (intellectual property regime) waivers.

The post Right Groups Urge Prime Minister to Lead Paris Climate Conference appeared first on NGO News, Latest NGO News, Fund for NGO, NGO News Update.

They also urged the Bangladesh Prime Minister to demand a clear and effective guideline of financial arrangement that is required to make the SDGs successful, specially in the least developing countries. These demands were placed from a human chain titled ‘Dear PM, tell our voice in UN: Legally Binding Climate Agreement is Indispensible for SDG Implementation’ which was organized by EquityBD and supported by CANSA and Action 2015. 23 organizations participated in the event.

A written statement on behalf of the organizers were read out by Mustafa Kamal Akanda of EquityBD, among others Badrul Alam of Bangladesh Krishak Federation, Subal Sarkar of Bangladesh Bhumihin Somity, Jayed Iqbal Khan of Bangladesh Krishak Federation, Aminur Rasul Babul of Unnayan Dhara, Kader Hazari of ARPAN, Abdul wahab of Jatiyo Sromik Jot, Kazi Hafizur Rahman of Public Service Institute also spoke at the occasion.

Mustafa Kamal Akanda Said, Bangladesh is losing 2-3 billion dollar each year due to the Climate Change impact, though Bangladesh is not responsible for the climate change. Since there is no legally binding arrangements, countries responsible for climate change are not wiling to reduce carbon emission, which results about 60% increase in the Carbon emission.

To reduce carbon emission and to save the countries like Bangladesh a legally binding Climate Treaty is must and it is indispensible towards the implementation of SDGs. No development goals can be fulfilled without proper arrangement on facing the challenge of climate change.

Bangladesh is also experiencing a huge number of climate forced migrants, there should be a separate protocoled under the UN recognizing these migrants as Universal Natural Person. As almost all the World leaders will be in the summit, our Prime Minister should use the opportunity to raise the issues on behalf of the people of Bangladesh and also of the LDC countries.

Aminur Rasul Babul said, it was calculated that to achieve MDGs Bangladesh would need 3.5 billion foreign aid per year, but Bangladesh got aid of only 1.58 billion dollar. It is evident that, rich countries failed to fulfill their commitment of fanatical support towards least developed countries. To achieve SDGs financial and technical support will be needed, this time a clear and effective structural arrangement of financial support from the rich countries must be there.

We demand this arrangement from this summit. Badrul Alam Said, Farmers are not responsible for climate change yet they the sufferer. We are paying for consumerism of the rich countries. As the leader of agriculture based country, our prime minister should raise this issue.

Kazi Hafizur Rahman said, To ensure effective achievement of SDGs,least development countries should be equipped with capcity of facing the challenges of climate change. Rich countries should recognize their historical responsibilities and they must come forward to ensure financial and technical support to the LDCs in this regard.

The post Dear Ptime Minister, tell our voice in UN appeared first on NGO News, Latest NGO News, Fund for NGO, NGO News Update.

NGO News Report ::

Nobel Laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus inaugurated the Jobra Museum and Archive, on September 19, in the village of Jobra where Grameen Bank was born in 1976.

Interesting feature of the event was the gathering of most of the former staff of the first branch of Grameen Bank as well as Professor H. I. Latifee who had coordinated all the activities of Professor Yunus during early years. The opening ceremony was also attended by distinguished guests from Chittagong, Chittagong University, Mr ASM Mohiuddin, Acting Managing Director, Grameen Bank, senior executives of the bank. Professor Yunus narrated the story how it all began in Jobra with collaboration between the people of Jobra village and an academic from the university. He recalled the role played by the village youth and the elders in his initiative of creating Nabajug Tebhaga Khamar in 1974 for producing an irrigated crop in the village, to add a third crop in their crop cycle.

Professor Sekander Khan, former Chairman of Department of Economics, Chittagong talked about the role played by students of various departments of the university to make the project successful.

The post Dr. Yunus inaugurated the Jobra Museum & Archive appeared first on NGO News, Latest NGO News, Fund for NGO, NGO News Update.

Mahdy Hassan ::

A business plan is a written formal document which tells what and how one plans to do one’s own business. It also can be termed as business strategy. It will guide the efforts of social entrepreneurs in establishing and designing business successfully.

Youth School for Social Entrepreneurs (YSSE) is currently working in assisting and promoting social entrepreneurs. As part of this journey, YSSE organized a training program on “How to Design a Business Plan For Social Entrepreneurship?” on 11 September 2015 at the premises of Policy Research Centre (PRC), Dhaka.

The training program was presided over by the CEO and Founder of YSSE, Mr. Sheikh Mohammad Yousuf Hossain while the training sessions were conducted by honorable guests respectively Mr. Syed Fazle Niaz, Training for Trainer Specialist and Mr. Keynote Speaker Mr. Md. Adnan Hossain, Founder and CEO, It’s Humanity Foundation.

Around 50 young social change makers participated in this interactive training session with passion and enthusiasm. YSSE member, online volunteers, active volunteers and youth ambassadors were included among those participants.

Through the voluntary efforts of YSSE, it has got to know a number of entrepreneurs and the people who really want to be entrepreneur where most of them are young people. The approach of training sessions included lecture, braining storming, participation and team work in group presentations.

YSSE found that most of the participants were highly skilled and confident to do business along with welfare activities. They have high potential to change the society. YSSE hopes that this training with proper guidelines will help them in preparing a proper business plan.

The post YSSE Training on Preparing Business Plan for the Young Social Entrepreneurs appeared first on NGO News, Latest NGO News, Fund for NGO, NGO News Update.

NGO News Report ::

Mr. Hasan speaks while chairing the concluding session of the three-day meeting of South Asian CSO and Parliament Leaders on Strategies towards SDG Summit and CoP (Conference of Parities) 21 at Paris. The meeting is held at Hotel Crown Plaza of Kathmandu, Nepal organized by Beyond Copenhagen and Pairvi of Delhi.

It is to mention that, UN general assembly is going to adopt the Sustainable Development Agenda as the roadmap for the post MDG era and in December this year Paris is going to host the 21^st Climate Conference of Parties (COP). This strategic meeting, that’s why, takes place in Nepal to sort out the possible strategies of South Asia in those international negotiations.

Mr. Om Thanvi, a senior journalist and the former editor of Janasatta-e-Hind, newspaper from Delhi, moderates the concluding session. The other distinguished speakers of the session are the former Prime Minister of Nepal Mr. Madhab Kumar Nepal, former Energy Minister Dr. Prakash Sharan Mahat and Jorunalist Ajay Dixit, the Editor of Water Nepal.

On behalf of South Asian civil society Mr. Soumya Dutta and Mr. Ajay Jha from India, Mr. Hemantha Wathanga from Sri Lanka and Rezaul Karim Chowdhury from Bangladesh speak on the occasion. Mr. Bijoy Prathap from India gives vote of thanks on behalf of the organizers.

Former Energy Minister of Nepal Dr. Prakash remarks about the potentialities of energy cooperation in South Asian countries for further advancement of the sub-continent.

Former Prime Minister Mr. Madab Kumar Nepal reiterates the need of mass awareness and the unity of the region’s politicians through it to work together addressing the common cause of the member countries.

The post People’s Awareness is what South Asian Leaders to Work Together on for Common Cause appeared first on NGO News, Latest NGO News, Fund for NGO, NGO News Update.

NGO News Report

Professor Yunus launched the Centenary Lecture Series with a Nobel Lecture. First time in the history of the University, where second President of India Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan used to teach, had a Nobel Laureate giving a lecture. The Vice-Chancellor ceremoniously greeted him with traditional Peta (traditional Mysore) cap, shawl, and a detailed bust made of sandalwood.

Yunus addressed an audience consisting of former ministers, eight former Vice -Chancellors of the University, political leaders, businessmen, bankers, industrialists, NGO leaders, and graduate students. Professor Yunus lecture marked the beginning of centenary celebration.

There are over 70 Bangladeshi students at the university where more than 1500 students from 60 countries are studying. Professor Yunus also visited the SBRR Mahajana First Grade College in Mysore to launch the Indian Chapter of the Social Business Academic Network. He also addressed faculty and students of the 75 year old College.

Earlier Professor Yunus inaugurated the brand new NH Super Speciality Cancer Hospital in Mysore, built by Narayana Health Systems on in Mysore. Professor Yunus was especially invited by Dr. Devi Shetty, the well-known founder of Narayana Health who has built more than 32 hospitals all across India, to be chief guest at the event.

The cancer hospital is the latest addition to the NH multi speciality hospital, popularly known as Mysore Health City, which was built, inspired by Professor Yunus’s philosophy, to provide access to the best health care at lowest cost to people from low and lower middle income group.

The hospital is built with least cost building materials, avoided multi-story construction, uses cross ventilation systems instead of air-conditioning in order to save on investment costs which are invariably passed on to patients, driving up hospitalization cost out of the reach of ordinary people.

Addressing a large audience at the inauguration ceremony, Professor Yunus congratulated Dr. Shetty for setting up yet another land mark in healthcare bringing top quality health services to the poorest people and make it affordable for them. The ceremony was attended by 500 participants including the local MLA, high level officials, dignitaries, and all the medical staff of the Health City.

Earlier in the visit, Professor Yunus visited Narayana Health in Bangalore to see the latest facilities of the hospital including a brand new cancer hospital and state of the art research facilities in the state capital. A large crowd received Professor Yunus as he arrived the hospital including large number of Bangladeshis who are there as patients or companions.

According to hospital sources, an estimated annual amount of $150 million is spent by Bangladeshis for treatment at Indian hospitals. More than 700 patients come each month on an average to N Health Bangalore alone, primarily for heart and cancer treatment, spinal care and eye care.

Professor Yunus was taken around the new facilities by Dr. Shetty personally. Afterwards he delivered a lecture to a packed auditorium of doctors, nurses, medical personnel of the hospital about social business and how it can play a role in bringing three zeros – zero unemployment, zero poverty and zero net carbon emissions – to create a new civilization. Professor Yunus is accompanied on this visit by Lamiya Morshed, Executive Director of Yunus Centre.

The post Yunus delivers Centenary Lecture at University of Mysore, launches Devi Shetty’s Health City and Cancer Hospital in Mysore appeared first on NGO News, Latest NGO News, Fund for NGO, NGO News Update.

NGO News Report

The inauguration session of the meeting is chaired by Dr Hasan Mahmud, Chairman of Parliamentary Standing Committee on Ministry of Environment and Forest of Bangladesh. Dr. Hasan says during the inauguration, South Asians civil society have to work with politicians to make the LDC (Least Developed Countries) and South Asian voice louder in the CoP (Conference of Parities) 21, the Climate Conference in Paris.

A number of Parliament Members and civil society leaders from India, Nepal and Sri Lanka take part in the meeting. Mr Bijoy Prothap of South Asia Dialogue on Ecological Democracy (SADED), India moderates the inauguration session while Mr Soumya Dutta of Beyond Copenhagen Collective from India speaks.

Mr Bijoy Prothap in his speech emphasizes on mobilizing South Asian leaders to place their own issues to be discussed in the global SDG and Climate Change talks. He adds, almost all the LDC will be the MVC (Most Vulnerable Countries) by Climate Change.

Mr Soumya Dutta of Beyond Copenhagen says, SDG is going to be adopted in next UN General Assembly but there are hardly any debate going on in South Asia on it.

Dr Hasan Mahmud as the Chair of the inauguration session gives importance to the interaction between the civil society and politicians on the topic. He puts examples on how a good inter-government cooperation in South Asia can solve energy scarcity in the sub continent. He mentions how Bhutan has increased per capita income to $4000 by using hydro power and exporting it to India.

Dr. Hasan also mentions how Bangladesh as an LDC could be affected by climate change. He urges civil society of the sub region to work with politicians so that South Asian and LDC voice can be louder in Paris Climate Conference.

The post Louder South Asian and LDC Voice before Paris Climate Conference appeared first on NGO News, Latest NGO News, Fund for NGO, NGO News Update.

NGO News Desk (

The first abnormal category is that of the Italian Government and its political parties, which violate the temporary civil administration over the Free Territory and the rights of other States, suffocating the international Free Port to the benefit of Italian ports. They are doing it since decades, and we are standing to prevent them from continuing that.

On the contrary, the second abnormal category of antagonists is new: it consists in local groups of ignorant meddlers, fools and violent individuals in search of votes and political advantages who pretend to defend the Free Territory and the international Free Port with actions that, as a matter of fact, are useless, reckless and damaging. As well as being supported by Italian authorities.

The damaging strike of 26 and 27 August

On 26 and 27 August, they carried out a strike of Dockers, which is useless, unjustified and damaging, since the agreements requested had already been archived some days before. In facts, alongside with unaware citizens, at the demonstration of the strikers there were also violent agitators who attacked the police to claim they were attacked, going as far as accusing the police to have slowed down an ambulance that was providing urgent aid.

Also, the useless strike had been scheduled on the busiest day for the container terminal of the Molo VII (Dock VII) to cause the maximum possible damage. And the result is that one of the main foreign customers
considers that the Port of Trieste is no longer reliable and decided to divert to other ports a traffic of 8,000 containers each month, which results in the loss of about 60 jobs.

Annex VIII as an excuse

The responsible of this disastrous strike did also justify it with the generic request to enforce the provisions of Annex VIII of the Treaty of Peace of 1947, which regulate the international Free Port of the Free Territory of Trieste. But the analysis of their declarations makes it clear that they don’t know the subject and they misrepresent it to support political claims for autonomy in Italy.

This seems to be also the reason why the organizers of the reckless and violent strike were surprisingly accredited as “autonomist” political negotiators by the local representatives and press of the Italian Government in Trieste: the Prefect F.A. Garufi, the Commissar of the Port Authority Zeno d’Agostino, the regional department of Italian TV RAI as well as newspapers “Il Piccolo” and “Primorski dnevnik”.

The “autonomist” operation of Italian authorities

For instance, Italian provisional authorities are organizing an “autonomist” coalition of fake supporters of independence and others for local elections to be held in 2016, drawn upon the “Lista per Trieste” of 1976-2006, to
attempt using it to contrast the legal and political-diplomatic, successful action of the Free Trieste Movement, which, on the contrary, supports the Free Territory of Trieste and the International Free Port.

To do this, administering Italian authorities are helping the violent agitators with a scandalous judicial impunity (see LINK) and by other, more or less questionable means.

Still, it cannot be tolerated that Italian authorities go as far as encouraging reckless sabotages of the activities of the port and of its enterprises, as the whole current and future economy of Trieste depends on these.

It is the same Italian authorities that are attempting to destroy, even by illegal means, the qualified and responsible workshop of initiatives of the Free Trieste Movement, which promotes, even with the 20,000 signatures it has already collected, the full enforcement of the sovereignty of the FreeTerritory and the functioning of its international Free Port, as well as paying attention to favorite and to not damage the current activities of the port.

The real reasons of the crisis

The protection of the current port activities in the port of Trieste is necessary for the very fact that the administering Italian Government does dramatically put them at stake by imposing, illegally, the oppressive, corrupted and failing legal, economic and fiscal system of the State of Italy to the Free Territory of Trieste.

A failing system that in Trieste, besides sabotaging the regime of international Free Port, imposes to port enterprises costs that are enormously superior to these of the nearby ports of Koper (Slovenia) and Rijeka (Croatia), two active competitors that have the same body of international users.

It is enough reminding that in Koper and Rijeka the three main managerial costs of a container terminal, which are work force, fuel and energy, are 30/35% inferior, with pier facilities that, when it comes to Koper, the Slovenian Government is quickly expanding on the surface and on 18 meters seabed, while in Trieste the administering Italian Government prevents their realization, like it does in the Northern Free Port, or limits its promises to their realization with construction times from 10 to 35 years.

The consequences for enterprises

These behaviors of the administering Italian Government have two fundamental consequences on the enterprises that operate within the port of Trieste: to remain on the market they must apply the same charges as Koper and Rijeka, but paying the increased Italian costs, with a consequent reduction of their revenues, and in order to be competitive on market they must show levels of production and reliability superior to these of Koper and of Rijeka.

As long as the Italian administration over Trieste continues, and with it the administration over the port and economy of the whole Free Territory, the survival conditions of port enterprises and of the Free Territory itself are
extreme, require economic sacrifices, extraordinary efforts for both trades and marketing, as well as remaining conditioned not only to the objective productivity and reliability of the port, but also to the strategic perceptions
of their customers.

This is dramatically demonstrated by the fact that the useless and violent political strike of 26-27 August, did not only driven an important customer to remove from the port of Trieste 8,000 containers and 60 jobs, but it does
also risk to induce other customers to make similar decisions, also upon new advantageous commercial offers with which Koper and Rijeka might use the situation to their own advantage.

Conclusions and liabilities

This means that the competent activity of the Free Trieste Movement for the implementation of the laws that establish the Free Territory of Trieste, its international Free Port and the consequent rights of other States over it
can actually consolidate the short-mid term strategic interest of international customers. And, actually, this is already happening.

But it does also mean that the reckless activities of the local political idiots who, ignorant as they are, believe to realize the Free Territory and the Free Port, or to obtain autonomies within Italy with demonstrations, trivial political actions and violent behaviors can easily cause enormous and immediate damages to the enterprises, to the port and to the whole local economy.

Now, the Italian administering authorities of the Free Territory of Trieste can chose to keep supporting those dangerous idiots with political accredits, scandalous judicial impunities, money and media coverage to attempt sabotaging both the international Free Port and the action of the Free Trieste Movement. But they must also assume all liabilities for it, both to other States and to port enterprises. (Press Release)

The post Trieste: Italian “autonomist” agitators who sabotage the international Free Port appeared first on NGO News, Latest NGO News, Fund for NGO, NGO News Update.

NGO News Report

He was invited to deliver a special lecture at the Rajiv Gandhi National Institution of Youth Development (RGNIYD) in Sriperumbudur, 40 kilometers from Chennai, and to launch the new programme of offering master degree in Social Entrepreneurship and Innovation, at the Institute.

Mr. Rajeev Gupta, Central Secretary of Youth Ministry flew over from Delhi to Chennai to receive Professor Yunus and be present at all the ceremonies. Imprint of both feet of Professor Yunus was ceremoniously taken on Plaster of Paris to display in the institute to inspire young students of the institute.

Rajiv Gandhi Institute was founded in memory of Rajiv Gandhi at the place where he was assassinated. This is a special institute under the Ministry of Youth Affairs, Government of India implementing programmes for youth all over India. The Institute announced a programme to turn unemployed youth into entrepreneurs through social business.

The event was jointly organized by the Rajiv Gandhi Institute and CIRDAP, an intergovernmental organization comprising 15 countries, headquartered in Dhaka. Dr Cecep Effendi, Director General of CIRDAP came from Dhaka to be present in the ceremony and extend support from CIRDAP for follow up programmes out of Professor Yunus’s visit.

A team from Yunus Centre was also invited to carry out a workshop on social business for 50 participants including students and entrepreneurs at the institute as a first step towards longer term collaboration with Professor Yunus.

In the evening, Professor Yunus delivered a special lecture at an event of industrialists and businessmen of Chennai, organized by TiE, the Indus Entrepreneurs and Villgro the largest social enterprise incubator in India.

Around 300 top business people and entrepreneurs attended the lecture. Professor Yunus challenged the audience to use their power, and resources to try out social business to solve a problem that they care about.

On the morning of September 2, Professor Yunus was received and felicitated by the Governor of Tamil Nadu, His Excellency Mr. Konijeti Rosaiah at the Raj Bhavan. Mr. Rosaiah who was the former Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, was very interested to learn about the work of Grameen and the social business initiatives of Professor Yunus and its use in addressing the problem of youth unemployment in Tamil Nadu.

In the afternoon, Professor Yunus delivered a lecture at an event organized by Young Indians, a group of young professionals and business people affiliated with the Confederation of Indian Industries, who work to engage young people in building ethical and moral leadership among the young and become more proactive in giving back to society.

Professor Yunus leaves for Bangalore on September 2 evening where he is invited by Dr. Devi Shetty to launch a brand new healthcare City founded by Dr Devi Shetty in Mysore.

The post Yunus Launches Master Degree Programme in Rajiv Gandhi Institute in India appeared first on NGO News, Latest NGO News, Fund for NGO, NGO News Update.

The Design Lab was chaired by Nobel Laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus. He opened the lab with welcoming remarks to the audience including those tuning in via live stream. Professor Yunus explained the process of the Lab, to review and assess social business plans of entrepreneurs. He reported that to date since January 2013, a total of 1553 projects have been presented during last 107 Design Labs of which 1528  projects were approved for investment, and most of these already in operation.

At today’s Lab, six new social business plans were presented. Out of them four were Nobin Udyokta businesses presented by young entrepreneurs coming from Grameen Bank borrowers’ families and two were guest projects. It includes a range of interesting businesses with colorful products including Jannat Fabrics producing ladies clothing by Shilpy Akter, Parul Beauty Parlor providing skin care by Parul Akter, Mahamuda ledies corner selling cosmetics and boutiques, Nayan Departmental Store selling Grocery items and a wide range of consumer goods. Two guest projects were also presented. They were a social business on sustainable coastal housing in Guatemala by Julio Linares from Guatemala and a project titled Photopreneurs by Prito Reza and Shazeeb M Khairul Islam which aims at creating Photo Entrepreneurs to combat unemployment.

These business plans were presented by each of the young entrepreneurs including all details of project plan, marketing plan, and sustainability plan. There were several rounds of discussions on how each social business could be improved and strengthened during the main session as well as in breakout sessions. All six of the social business projects were approved for funding from various social business funds. These projects would be reviewed in the upcoming Labs, and through regular reports on Social Business Pedia.

Professor Yunus thanked the participants for the innovative social businesses and noted that it was exciting that so many ideas were now a reality and how impressive it was that entrepreneurs coming from so far away could present their business plans and defend them in front of distinguished international audience.

Professor Yunus also invited participants to join next Social Business Design Lab, to be held on 17 September 2015.

The post Fifteen Hundred New Entrepreneurs through Social Business Design Lab appeared first on NGO News, Latest NGO News, Fund for NGO, NGO News Update.

NGO News Report

The research organisation in its ninth monthly issue of the sixth year notes that in FY 2014-15 (July-May), the total outstanding domestic debt has increased by 13.7 percent while the total outstanding external debt burden increased to by 8.5 percent in FY 2013-14. Meanwhile, during the period from FY 2012-13 to FY 2013-14, the debt service payment increased by 18.6 percent.

The outstanding domestic debt as percentage of GDP was 15.2 percent in FY 2011-12, 15.11 percent in FY 2012-13, and 15.04 percent in FY 2013-14, finds the think tank.

Government borrowed more from non-banking system than the banking system in FY 2014-15, although, as shown in previous years, deficits are usually financed by government borrowing from the banking system, observes the UO.

The domestic debt stood at Tk. 222573 crore in FY 2014-15 (July-May) crore in FY 2013-14, which was Tk. 203163 crore, Tk. 181184 crore, Tk. 160423 crore and Tk. 139220 crore in FY 2013-14, FY 2012-13, FY 2011-12 and FY 2010-11 respectively. Debt has increased by Tk. 26788 crore during the period from FY 2013-14 (July-May) to FY 2013-14 (July-May).

The external debt has increased by USD 319 million in FY 2013-14 compared to FY 2012-13, whereas the debt increased by USD 547 million in FY 2012-13 compared to FY 2011-12. In FY 2014-15 (July-February), external debt stood at USD 1495 million.

The total outstanding external debt, however, stood at USD 27036 million in 2013-14, whereas it was USD 23608.8 million, USD 23537.1 million and USD 24907 million in FY 2010-11, FY 2011-12 and FY 2012-13 respectively.

The per capita external debt was USD 115.52 in FY 2001-02, which stood at USD 136.45 in FY 2006- 07, USD 157.7 in FY 2010-11 and USD 173.53 in FY 2013-14, finds the research organization.

The per capita domestic debt was Tk. 3433.36 in FY 2001-02, which reached Tk. 5533 in FY 2006-07, Tk. 9292.95 in FY 2010-11, Tk. 12968 in FY 2013-14 and Tk. 13989.49 in FY 2014-15 (July-May). Taking the growth path of increase in per capita domestic debt into account the UO projects that the per capita domestic debt is likely to rise to Tk. 16000 in FY 2015-16.

The think tank further observes that the foreign debt-service payment is increasing over the periods, which indicates a decrease in the net foreign asset of the country. In 2013-14, the total service payment was USD 1294 million among which USD 1088 million was paid as principle and USD 206 million was paid as interest. The payment, however, reached USD 794 million where principle payment was USD 659 million and USD 134 million until February 2015.

Increasing allocation for non-development expenditure due to financing the deficit does not allow the government to allocate adequately for development expenditure resulting in barrier to the expansion of productive capacity in the economy, says the Unnayan Onneshan.

The research organisation shows that while the rate of growth in non-development expenditure has stood at 19.66 percent in the budget of FY 2015-16 compared to the budget of 2014-15, the rate of growth in development expenditure stood at 18.78 percent in the budget of FY 2015-16 compared to FY 2014-15.
The think-tank evinces that the deficit amounting to five percent of GDP stands at Tk. 86657 crore without grants in the budget of FY 2015-16, whereas the deficit was Tk. 67552 crore in the budget for FY 2014-15 which was later revised at Tk. 76297 crore.

As a result, the target of government borrowing in the budget of FY 2015-16 increases and amounts to Tk. 80857 crore, which was Tk. 61346 crore in the budget of FY 2014-15 causing a 31.8 percent increase in target of government borrowing, finds the think tank.

Increasing government borrowing from domestic sources may, however, crowd out the private investment by causing the interest rate to rise. In July-May period of FY 2014-15, total domestic debt has increased by 32.93 percent from the corresponding period of the FY 2013-14.

Financing of budget deficit in July-May period of FY 2014-15 stood higher at Tk. 33883.09 crore compared to Tk. 27379.43 crore during the corresponding period of FY 2013-14, representing an increase of 23.8 percent.
In order to check the ominous effects of debt and deficit, the Unnayan Onneshan urges for the adoption of an immediate debt management policy through a harmonisation of the macroeconomic policies that ensures an effective fiscal management in the economy.

The post Bangladesh Economic Update Of September 2015 appeared first on NGO News, Latest NGO News, Fund for NGO, NGO News Update.

NGO News Report

Let’s sum up: workers demanded the application of current laws, fully in force. The Italian government did not reply to that request. The Italian government instead sent a police squad from outside Trieste with repressive intent.
It is now very much clear to everyone: Italy has no intention to comply to International laws on the Free Port of Trieste, and it is therefore needed for the International community to URGENTLY act upon the current situation, before it escalates even further.

TRIEST NGO expects to intervene in the next few months in Geneva, in order to explain the current serious and illegal situation to UN committees, as well as to start an inquiry procedure against Italy.

—
Italy signed the 1947 Treaty of Peace and 1954 London Memorandum, agreeing to precise obligations towards the citizens of Trieste, and towards the administration of the Free Port of Trieste.

These laws — namely, Annex VIII to the Treaty of Peace — are today fully in force, as confirmed by the Italian judiciary system and by the US State Department, among others. Yet, the Italian government has not been applying such laws for decades, and more and more citizens of the Territory of Trieste can not possibly stand the current state of things.

The city of Trieste lost almost one third of its population, in the last few decades, thanks to the lack of development of (and subsequent lack of employment from) its Free Port. (Press Release)

The post Trieste Free Port Workers Clash With Italian Police appeared first on NGO News, Latest NGO News, Fund for NGO, NGO News Update.

NGO News Report

To create employment opportunities for released prisoners by providing them with various marketable skills to increase their opportunities for employability, a public-private collaboration has been initiated by the Prison Directorate on behalf of the Ministry of Home Affairs and Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), and UK Department for International Development (DFID).

As a part of this initiative, the first-ever training course on “Moccasin Shoe Stitching” was launched where 21prisoners have successfully completed their training on 10 August 2015. The training was initiated by the Prison Directorate and conducted by the Center of Excellence for Leather (COEL) Skill Bangladesh Ltd. in coordination with Dhaka Ahsania Mission. GIZ provided the technical support for this training. The certificate-giving ceremony was held on 27 August 2015 at Kashimpur Central Jail Part 2.

Dr. Md. Mozammel Haque Khan, Senior Secretary, Ministry of Home Affairs, was the Chief Guest and the event was chaired by the Brigadier General Syed Iftekhar Uddin, Inspector General of Prisons, Prison Directorate. A.K.M Afzalur Rahman (Babu), Vice Chairman and  KaziRoushanAra, Head of Operation, COEL, Bangladesh Ltd.; Mr. Proshanto Kumar Banik, Senior Jail Superintendent; Ms. Tahera Yasmin, Senior Program Advisor, Rule of Law, GIZ and representatives from Dhaka Ahsania Mission and GIZ were also present at the ceremony.

“Historically, prison was considered to be a place mainly for punishment, today prison has gradually transferred into place for rehabilitation ” -said the Senior Secretary, Ministry of Home Affairs,Dr. Md. Mozammel Haque Khan, during his speech at the certificate-giving ceremony. He also expressed that this training will provide the prisoners with capacity of not only finding a job after release but will also help them to be self-employed.

Brigadier General Syed Iftekhar Uddin, Inspector General of Prisons said,” Through technical education provided to the prisoners will gain confidence to be reintegrated in the society”. He also hoped that the trained prisoners will not reoffend and come back to prison. He wished that the prisoners will live a respectable life as a functional member of the society once released.

One of the trainees shared his enthusiasm about the artful nature of the training and mentioned,“the helplessness of returning to the society without a means of living use to make me very depressed, but not anymore. Now after receiving this training I know I can get a job in a shoe making company or be self-employed after release.”

The post “Moccasin Shoe Stitching” training for prisoners at Kashimpur Central Jail Part 2 appeared first on NGO News, Latest NGO News, Fund for NGO, NGO News Update.

Fortune announced its inaugural Change the World list, a ranking of 51 companies that have made an impact on major global social or environmental problems as part of their competitive strategy. For the first time, the magazine’s “Change the World” list is ranking companies not by the dollars they make, but the good they are doing.

According to the World Bank, globally, microfinance accounts for at least $60 billion in loans annually and has reached 135 million people. This is the first list of its kind in which companies are recognized—and competitively ranked—on business innovations that positively impact pressing social and environmental issues.

Danone, one of the social business partners of Grameen ranked 14th position on Fortune’s Change the World List as a brand offering products that address poor nutrition. Grameen and Danone Group went into a joint venture to create a yogurt fortified with micro-nutrients to decrease malnutrition for the children of Bangladesh in 2005

Source:
https://fortune.com/change-the-world/ and https://fortune.com/change-the-world/grameen-bank-12/

The post Grameen Bank in Fortune Magazine’s Global List appeared first on NGO News, Latest NGO News, Fund for NGO, NGO News Update.