CHAPTER - VII

NGQs IN DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES IN BANGLADESH

More than 15, 000 NGOs are said to be registered with the

Government under the Acts of Registration and Control of Voluntary

Social Welfare Affairs - 1961, Societies Registration - 1860 and

Foreign Donation (Voluntary Activities) Regulation - 1978. Among

them, 1200 NGOs ar~ reported to be directly involved in development

activities. 676 NGOs are registered under the Foreign Donation

Ordinance of 1978 and among them some are foreign and national

NGOs. 1

These NGOs mainly play a supplementary and complementary role

to the efforts of the Government agencies. According to a Database

Profile prepared by Association of Development Agencies in

Bangladesh (ADAB) in 1990 about 613 member organizations of ADAB

have been implementing their activities in 397 thanas of 63

districts. Their activities include - Group Formation, Credit,

Formal Education, Adult and Child Education, Training, Health and

Nutrition, Maternal and Child Health and. Family Planning, Women's

Development, Agriculture, Pisciculture, Poultry and Livestock,

Water and Sanitation, Small Trading, Research and Training, Human

Rights, Advocacy, Legal Aid and Environment and Social Forestry. 2

However, they act outside the ambit of the Government agencies. In

view of the magnitude and dimension of the necessity for

improvement of the sectors stated above, it is not easy for a

Government of a country like Bangladesh to cope with all this

216

alone. Hence the importance of the NGOs to play an important role

in these sectors.

VII.l NGQs and Approach to Development

NGOs' approach to development varies but broad categorization

could be as follows:

a. Conscientization approach

The conscientization approach seeks to strengthen the weak by

arousing the necessity of their increasing unity. Importance is

aimed at enhancing the groups' understanding of background and

causes of their poverty and backwardness and at prompting their

confidence to change their plight by concerted efforts.

Interventions in the field of conscientization consist of general

awareness progranune as well as more specialized ones as in the case

of legal literacy or disaster coping. In this field perhaps the

hardest task which NGOs face is to encourage groups which will

ultimately become self-sufficient and independent of NGOs. If there

is more or less an unified concept which is imparted through

training, then there is more chance of successful group action.

Some of the NGOs have given special attention towards alleviating

the miseries of rural women. They have motivated the female group

members properly and connected them with a wide range of income

generating activities. This has enhanced their socio-economic

independence within the household and ensured their appropriate

status in the society.

217

b. Credit a~roach

The credit approach emphasizes the material support to the

target group and is epitomized by the Grameen Bank, a leading NGO

in Bangladesh. The Grameen Bank has served as a model for the

credit approach in developing the poorer section of the society.

Its banking method is unique. It works among the landless people,

provides credit without any collateral as well as encourages

traditional sector of activities. Till December 1994, it provided

credit a total amount of Taka 43,330 million to 2.2 million people

of whom 94% are women. The recovery rate is about 99%. It is now

working more than 36,000 villages through nearly 45,000 cen.tres. 3

The shares of NGOs' credit in total credit advanced to Bangladesh

in 1990 was 0.6 per cent. 4

More often, the NGOs adopt a mix of the above mentioned two

approaches with perhaps one or the other predominating. The

Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee (BRAC), another leading NGO

in Bangladesh and Proshika, for example, take a credit cum

conscientization approach; but in the case of BRAC, credit

dominates while in Proshika, the conscientization approach is more

visible.

VII.2 NGOs in Some Select Sectors

a. Human Resource Development

Notable contributions have been made by NGOs in developing

institutions of the poor in Bangladesh. The process of developing

218

institution building has been through development of human

resources with the help of a continuous process of education and

conscientization following the popular pedagogical methods. Most

development NGOs have initiated people's organizations at the

grass-root levels and facilitated the release of potential social

energy of the poor to mobilize resources and to have political

assertion for equal social justice.

b. Education and literacy

Education or basic literacy programmes are one of the most

popular NGO interventions in Bangladesh. NGOs are offering both

formal and non-formal education. Also a deliberate policy of taking

in girls is followed in both BRAC and Proshika school programmes.

School hours are also flexible so that working children can attend

the schools. Another significant aspect of using literacy as an

entry point is that conscientization and skill training programme

may be added to it, e.g., legal education, leadership development

etc., as needed. The leading NGOs working in education field in

Bangladesh are BRAC, Swanirvar Bangladesh (SB), Village Education

Resource Centre (VERC), Proshika Manabik Unnyan Kendra (PMUK).

BRAC deserves a few words of appreciation for its tremendous

performances in improving education status among the poor. BRAC

model of non-formal primary education (NFPE) for children of 8-10

years age group and the model of primary education for oJ.der

children (PEOC) of 11-16 years age group are innovative efforts

that have been successful .in addressing the problem of low

enrolment, low attendance and high dropouts. Criteria of villages

219

where school will be located include parent demands, availability

of teachers, students and proximity to a cluster of villages.

Relevant curricula, dedicated and well supervised teachers,

reasonable class size and parents' involvement have important

parameters in making this school a success.

Above 70% of the students are girls belonging to the most

disadvantaged rural families and 96% of the teachers are women.

Classes are conducted for an average of 270 days a year and more

than 95% of the learners complete the 3 year school term of NFPE

and over 90% of the graduates move on to the Government schools in

class IV and V. The programme has a system of participatory and

decentralized management in which the programme organizer (PO) is

the first line field personnel and directly supervises 15-20

schools. They assist the teachers to work with parents' groups,

visit every school in the areas as often as possible, attend

monthly parents' meetings and conduct monthly teachers training

session. POs are in turn supervised by the field officers. BRAC

schools want the children to be active participants in learning

rather than passive recipients of information. Curriculum is

relevant to rural life and provisions for co-curricular activit.ies

are also there to make the environment more interesting which

ensures high attendance. Community has full involvement in

management of the school, starting with only 22 schools in 1985,

there are over 46, 402 schools throughout Bangladesh to-day. BRAe

plans to expand the _number of schools in a significant manner

shortly. 5

220

It appears- from the above discussion on BRAC's programmes on

education and literacy that the NGO has ben playing a key role in

raising girl students' enrolment in primary education and

addressing the problem of high rate of dropout. It is highly

significant that 96% of teachers are females6 in the schools

conducted by it. The organization is not only providing job

opportunities to the women; but at the same time, by doing so, it

is empowering the women, which is not only important for the

liberation of the women from the "vicious cycle" of poverty,

underdevelopment and backwardness, but it is also equally important

for the sustainable development of the whole countr/.

c. Health and family plannina

A number of NGOs have taken up health, nutrition and family

planning programmes in their activities. They have appointed

trained health workers who actively participate in house visits.

During each visit the health workers emphasize a special health

educating subject by identifying the most obvious health problem in

the members of family. They motivate their clients on immunization,

family planning, nutrition and health education, diarrhoeal

diseases control and promotion of safe water and sanitation.

The target group for the NGOs are poor landless men and women

in rural areas. The membership of those organizations consists

overwhelmingly of the rural poor as defined in their eligibility

criterion. It is obserw=d that continuous permanent membership

meetings and extensive enquiries from fellow members have ensured

weeding out of ineligible ones so that the membership is confined

221

to the real poor section of the rural population. As a result of

NGOs intervention in health and family planning, there has been a

rise in the use of contraceptives. However, the fact that in most

of the cases the users tend to be more women. This can be an

indicator that women want to have more control over their bodies or

it may also indicates that given existing gender relations, men are

not keen in using contraceptives.

Increased knowledge has created higher demand for health and

family planning services. Therefore, knowledge of health and

nutritional care is definitely high among group members exposed to

such interventions, even if they come from poor backgrounds. In

many regions where adequate NGOs services are not available or a

particular se~-vice is only temporary, the villagers have to fall

back on Government services. Thus, strengthening of Governmental

health services and infrastructures is just as essential as

providing health and nutritional knowledge to poor women. Most

notable NGOs working in health and family planning sector in

Bangladesh are VHSS (Voluntary Health and Social Services) and the

Gono Shasthya Kendra (General People's Health Centre).

One of the most notable contributions of NGOs lies in

developing the concept of community health workers for creating a

sustainable health care system at the community level through

people's participation. Their contributions in nation wide

diarrhoeal management have earned a great appreciation both at home

and abroad. The revolutionary concept of treating diarrhoea through

home-made oral rehydration solution made of laban (salt) and gur

222

(molasses) hag been disseminated under the Diarrhoeal Management

Programme.

d. Skill development training and credit for income and

employment generation

Income generation through rural credit has been one of the

oldest approaches by some of the larger NGOs in Bangladesh. Despite

its many criticism, it has remained one of the preferred ways of

making interventions at the grass-root level. BRAC for example has

used this method so effectively that it now intends to get into

commercial banking, making its credit programme the launching pad.

Grameen Bank has also served as a model for the credit approach in

developing the poorer section of the people.

In many initial programmes, women have generally been slow to

form groups. Perhaps because their hands are tied with managing the

household, they do not find enough time to engage themselves in

productive activities. But once they have formed groups, specially

those women who are either economically disadvantaged or because of

their age, are released from the duties of motherhood or household

work, their interest for work is equal to that of men. But because

of existing gender division of labour in most agricultural

activities, pressure of housework and limited mobility of women,

they are assigned with works which are undervalued and poorly paid

e.g., food processing and poultry farming, vegetable gardening,

livestock rearing etc.

There is also a feeling that credit when accompanied by

training facilities e.g., management or accountancy training, gives

223

better results,- because then women can better organize their group

activities. Cases in various NGOs where women's groups had to find

their own strategies when they came to marketing their product or

conduct trading in the market, because they are culturally

constrained in their access to market. Often such strategies have

taken the form of joint social action.

e. Environment and Forestry. Poultry. Livestock- and Sericulture

Rapid deforestation has caused a serious ecological imbalance

in Bangladesh. The NGOs have undertaken massive afforestation

programmes. They are also promoting the development of nurseries

all over the country.

f. Gender Development

In a male-dominated and a relatively conservative society like

Bangladesh, NGOs have been trying to ameliorate the status of women

through education and conscientization and through helping them

develop their own institutions. Through education, they are made

aware of their plight and through organization,- they are encouraged

to undertake collective socio-economic actions which not only

provide them with income, but ~lgo add to their social status. The

NGOs are of the view that given opportunities, women are able to

manage economic activities effectively and generate income which

enhances their status and ensures their say in the decision-making

process in the family.

Apart from above mentioned social sectors, NGOs are also

active in pove_rty alleviation programmes in Bangladesh. Their

activities in this sector has been discussed earlier in "Poverty-

224

Health Nexus" chapter.

VII.3 Effectiveness of NGQs

Before going to judge NGOs' effectiveness, it would be

pertinent to know about some prevailing concepts on weaknesses of

NGOs-. It is observed that with the exception of a few, NGOs do not

prefer formal organizational structures and management systems on

the ground that such structures and systems emulate an elitist mode

of operation and a bureaucratic style of control and domination

which are likely to stifle growing creative initiatives that demand

flexibility and independence. It may be true; but modern management

systems tend to combine flexibility with strategic competence for

effective planning and intervention.

With increasing availability of donor funds, some NGOs tend to

undertake programmes which are determined by and dovetailed with

donors' demands and expectations. Such programmes may have only

little relevance to the critical needs and aspirations of the

beneficiaries and may be far drawn away from their stated long-term

objectives and strategies. Increased availability of, and access

to, resources have forced NGOs to expand their operation quickly,

often leading them to encroach upon others' _programme areas

resulting in resentments, misgivings, distrust and, in some time,

quarrels. This undue infight among NGOs is likely to defeat their

very objectives.

225

With regard to effectiveness of NGOs, it is not easy to judge

their performance in carrying out their operations. It is observed

that there has been very little systematic analysis by the NGOs

themselves or by independent organizations on NGOs' effectivity.

And any general assessment of the impact of NGOs can thus be based

on partial evidence. Although it is observed that the NGOs have

made significant impact towards alleviation of poverty and hardship

of poor people in areas where their programmes were intensive, a

question, however, automatically arises about the cost of their

programmes.

A study on comparative cost of NGOs and Government

organizations (GOs) reveals that the NGOs with the exception of

Swanirvar Bangladesh (SB), had to incur a very high level of

expenditure per member household compared to that of GOs. SB did

not operate through regular staff but cadre volunteers in J:ural

areas for which its operation cost was low. The evidence suggests

that for a given level of impact on rural poverty and inequality,

most of the NGOs invested more resources than the GOs. The above

information is furnished in the table provided in the next page.

226

Table No. VII.l

Comparative Cost of Operation of GO/NGQ (1986) 7

Organization

Government of

Bangladesh (GB}

BRAC

RDRS

Proshika

SB

BRDB

Operating Total no.

cost

(Taka)

89885

114062

112307

51898

12552

525600

of household

covered

209467

79600

42922

126191

463460

2633713

Cost per

member

(Taka)

383.56

936.88

1962.41

308.45

27.07

173.24

------------------------------------------------------

Another comparable study for confirmation of the above view

was made in a same (Manikganj} thana where the activities of each

of the organizations were intensive and the impact of their

activities of poverty alleviation was more or less similar for all

the organizations. An analysis of the cost figures indicates,

however, that BRAC incurred a substantially higher expenditure than

that of GB and BRDB. It is observed that NGOs compared to GOs

engaged more personnel and paid them a higher salary to cover a

lower number of households in that area. The table in the next page

presents above information.

227

Table No. VII. 2

Cost of Operation of GB/BRAC/BRDB in Manikganj Thana (1987) 8

Organization

GB

BRAC

BRDB

Operating Total no. of

cost

(Taka)

household

covered

3259078 9514

30610701 6332

376144 8049

Cost per

member

(Taka)

325.42

1670.30

43.37

An evaluation conducted jointly by the Ministry of Education

and UNICEF in July 1991 for five selected NGOs of Bangladesh, the

cost per learner for adult education was found to vary between Taka

239 and Taka 624; while in the project for expansion of Integrated

Non-Formal Education in Bangladesh under the Government the

development and annual recurrent cost for adult literacy was

assumed to be respectively Taka 320 per adult. 9

Now the question is how lon·g these NGOs will be able to

sustain such costly operation of development programmes. This

question is related to the way NGOs generate funds for programme

operation. Result of an enqui~r on the sources of funds of some

selected NGOs reveals that all the NGOs excepting SB, generate more

than 60% of their

therefore, appears

operational

that these

funds from foreign

NGOs will be able

donors . It ,

to continue

operation of programmes as long as the donors continue contributing

228

to the funds of these NGOs.

Table No. VII.3

Generation of Operational Funds of some NGQs by Source10

Organization 1986 1985 1984

ctm Foreign Own Foreign Own Foreign source grants source grants source grants

in % in % in %

BRAC 30.74 59.26 39.09 60.91 30.99 69.01

RDRS 16.35 83.65 18.00 82.00 19.20 79.80

Proshika 2. 77 97.23 0.49 99.51 0.86 99.14

SB 100.00 100.00 100.00

According to a BRAC publication, the organization received 66%

of its programme costs as contribution from donors in 1994. 11

VII.4 Government-NGOs Relationship

"Bangladesh has one of the largest and most diversified NGO

sectors in the world. At the beginning of the 1990s at least 12,000

groups were receiving financial and technical support. More than

550 local NGOs were registered with the Association of Development

Agencies and more than 300 national and foreign NGOs were getting

funds from abroad. Around $ 100 million is channelled to NGOs from

external sources, which is about 5% of total aid flows" . 12

NGOs in Bangladesh have been trying to impress upon the

Government that they represent the private non-profit agencies in

the field of development outside the Government ambit. They try to

229

assert that the non-government sector should receive the same

attention, encouragement, cooperation, assistance and facilitation

from the Government as being accorded to private enterprises in

business and industries. However, "NGOs' relations with the

Government are still complex and contradictory. On the one hand,

they are welcomed to "supplement and complement Government's

development programmes" . But the Government has also at times seen

them as a threat, undermining its legitimacy and as a growing

competitor for development finance and has responded by placing

obstacles in their way, including a restrictive process of

registration and approval". 13 Government has established a bureau

entitled "NGO Affair Bureau" entrusted with, among others, the

responsibilities of administering laws relating to NGOs in

Bangladesh, providing one-stop service to NGOs for registration and

project processing, approval of projects submitted by the NGOs,

release of funds and clearance for employment of expatriate

personnel etc.

On their parts, the NGOs allege that they are faced with so

many obstacles for their smooth and effective functioning which

Government can easily remove if it wants to do it sincerely. NGOs

also allege that they are facing problems with obtaining

registration, receiving and operating foreign donations, project

approval etc. They are of the view that Government should look into

these aspects in order to make NGOs to function smoothly and

effectively.

"NGOs in Bangladesh do have an influence on the Government's

230

development poiicy and the Government has given some leading NGO

figures important advisory positions. This could be seen as an

endorsement of the value of NGOs or as a way of coopting potential

opposition". 14 However, a section of people in Bangladesh is

critical about NGOs' role. They allege that NGOs try to influence

the Government in policy decisions. This sort of allegation often

vitiates the environment of relationship between the Government and

NGOs.

VII.5 Results from Field Work

Views of the respondents for the first category of

questionnaire (Appendix - I & II may be seen) on some select

questions on the role of NGOs in social development in Bangladesh

are presented in the following table.

Table No. VII .4

Ouest ions

Yes %

1. Whether NGOs' intervention in social 60.6 fields including health is more effec-tive than that of the Government.

2. Whether regulatory mechanism should 85.5 be imposed on the activities of NGOs' by the Government.

3. Whether a system of accountability 99.6 should be evolved for the NGOs.

4. Whether there should be a complimen- 76.5 tarity between the activities of the Government and the NGOs.

231

Answer

No ~

30.5

13.7

0.0

15.3

Can't say

8.9

0.8

0.4

8.2

VII.6 Suggestive Framework

It goes without saying that in spite of all their limitations,

NGOs have made significant contributions to national development

over the years. They have acquired considerable experience and

expertise by working at the grass-root level. They have also

initiated some innovative programmes in some social areas. The

participation of NGOs in social issues and their effectivity in

those areas have been recognized by everybody. However, there is a

need to promote an effective partnership between the Government and

NGOs in the discussion and decisions on the design, implementation,

coordination, monitoring and evaluation of programmes on all the

social issues. The Government should endeavour to integrate NGOs

and local community groups into their decision-making and

facilitate the contribution that NGOs can make towards finding

solutions to these issues. NGOs should be used in social

mobilization and community participation, particularly in issues

like, education, health and family planning and women development.

In order to ensure effective and productive participation of

NGOs in social fields following recommendations are being made:

a. As it has been revealed, one of the shortcomings of the

programmes of NGOs is lack of sustainability since NGOs'

programmes depend on the funds received mainly from

outside. Therefore, in case NGOs are unable to continue

their programmes for want of funds, the Government

232

Organizations (GOs) should take over them. Therefore, a

mechanism should be there between NGOs and GOs to this

effect;

b. It has also been revealed that the per head expenditure

of NGOs' programmes is much more higher than that of the

GOs. The most unacceptable aspect of NGOs' expenditure is

that there is no outside audit system for their

expenditure. This is probably the main reason for such

increased overhead expenditure. Therefore, Government

should evolve a mechanism in consultation with NGOs and

their funding agencies to have an effective audit system

for NGOs' expenditure.

c. Government should also ensure that there is a syst.em of

accountability for NGOs for their activities to their

funding agencies as well as the Government.

d. There may be a tri-partite committee comprising NGOs,

donor countries/ agencies and the Government for such

matters as project appraisal, allocation for specific

project, budgets for NGOs, expenditures etc.

e. Misgivings about NGOs in the people should be allayed by

the Government initiative. The Government should assist

NGOs in whatever manner it is require<;i, to implement

their projects.

f. Government should benefit from the experiences of NGOs

gathered in their successful programmes.

g. Government should understand and believe that NGOs are to

233

supplement Government's efforts and they are not

alternative to it.

h. Government should ease the registration process of NGOs

and remove administrative and procedural bottlenecks for

their smooth and effective functioning;

i. Efforts may be made to evolve a mechanism whereby the

Government officials involved in the development

processes make regular field-visits to NGOs' programmes

to have a critical exposure to, and consequent insights

into the programme dynamics and operation of NGOs;

j. Government may involve NGOs in formulating appropriate

policies and developing suitable programmes both at the

local and national level, planning exercises so that the

needs of the poor are properly addressed and their

participation ensured;

k. An effective networking of NGOs in all aspects is

essential to avoid duplication of activities and to

ensure that the most needed areas and fields are not left

out.

However, needless to say that the Government should not

hesitate to ask the donor agencies/countries to stop financing a

specific NGO, if its activities and performance are not up to the

minimum standard, which should be set by the Government for all

NGOs and redirect funds allocated for that particular NGO to the

Government. In order to do this effectively, the NGO Bureau of the

234

Government should be strengthened. The Bureau should be~ able to

apprise activities and performance of NGOs on an impartial but

sound basis.

Selected References

1. ADAB {1994), Grassroots- NGOs for a Better Bangladesh, Vol. IV, Issue XIII-XIV, Dhaka, p. 10.

2. ADAB {i990), ADAB Database- 1990, Dhaka.

3. Government of Bangladesh {1995), Women in Bangladesh Equality, Development and Peace, Bangladesh National Report; Ministry of Women and Children Affairs, p. 34.

4. UNDP {1993), Human Development Report {Delhi: Oxford University Press), p. 94.

5. BRAC {1995), BRAC in Brief {Dhaka: BRAC Printers).

6. ~-

7. Alam, J. {1993), Rural Poverty in Bangladesh: The Impact of Non-Governmental and Governmental Organizations. In: Government of Bangladesh in Poverty Alleviation, M. Nurul Amin {ed.) {Dhaka: Bangladesh Rural Development Board), p. 245.

8. Alam, J. {1993), Rural Poverty in Bangladesh: The Impact of Non-Governmental and Governmental Organizations. In: Government of Bangladesh in Poverty Alleviation, M. Nun1l Amin {ed.) {Dhaka: Bangladesh Rural Development Board), p. 246.

9. Government of Bangladesh {1995), Education For All - National Plan of Action, Primary and Mass Education Division, Dhaka, p. 51.

10. Alam, J. {1993), Rural Poverty in Bangladesh: The Impact of Non-Governmental and Governmental Organizations. In: Government of Bangladesh in Poverty Alleviation, M. Nurul Amin {ed.) {Dhaka: Bangladesh Rural Development ~oard), p. 247.

11. BRAC {1994), BRAC 1994, {Dhaka: BRAC Printers), p. 35.

12. UNDP {1993), Human Development Report {Delhi: Oxford University Press), p. 92.

13. ibid.

14. ibid.

235