Dhaka, Bangladesh (BBN)– Bangladesh needs foreign assistance of $3.0 billion to $5.0 billion a year for attaining all the MDGs, according to the ‘Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), Bangladesh Progress
Report 2011’ released on Thursday.
The report suggested the development partners should generously support Bangladesh’s endeavour for achieving the targets set under MDGs toward achieving the target in all sectors.
Besides, implementation capacity of the line ministries and agencies also has to be increased, it noted.
The report was revealed at a function at the NEC conference room at Sher-e-Bangla Nagar in the capital Dhaka.
Planning Minister AK Khandaker was present on the occasion as the chief guest, while Food Minister Dr M Abdur Razzaque, Health Minister AFM Ruhal Haque and Environment and Forests Minister Dr Hasan Mahmud addressed the function as special guests.
General Economics Division (GED) member of the Planning Commission Professor Shamsul Alam presented the key aspects of the progress report.
The report identified some major challenges as the share of Official Development Assistance (ODA) in national income has been declining steadily as well as the disbursement of ODA has consistently been below commitments.
To address these challenges, the report suggested utilizing Public-Private Partnership (PPP) framework to attract FDI for financing development and infrastructure. It also said that access to international markets is necessary for achieving MDG goals.
The recently published ‘MDG Financing Strategy for Bangladesh’ estimated $78.2 billion is needed for attaining all the MDGs in Bangladesh during 2011-15.
Regarding the MDG Goal, Reduce Child Mortality, the report said Bangladesh has made considerable progress (50 per 1,000 live births in 2009 from 146 in 1990) in child survival over the last several decades.
BBN/SI/SSR-22Mar12-11:30 pm (BST)
