ANNUAL
REPORT
2013 Urban Partnerships
for Poverty Reduction
Local Government Engineering Department Urban Partnerships for Poverty Reduction
Published by the Urban Partnerships for Poverty Reduction (UPPR) Project Bangladesh Prepared by:
Research, Evaluation & Learning Unit
Design:
Md. Zahirul Islam & Silvia Mantilla Santarelli
Printer:
Future Vision
Cover photo:
Roksana Akhter, We Tell Participant, Tongi
Chapter 1 photo: Shompa Banu, We Tell Participant, Naogaon Photos:
Emdad Islam Bitu, Photographer, UPPR Md. Kamrul Hassan, Communications and Documentation Expert, UPPR Silvia Mantilla Santarelli Programme Analyst, UPPR
FOREWORD & INTRODUCTION Pages 3-8 BREAKING OUT OF POVERTY Pages 9-16 MAXIMISING OUR REACH Pages 17-21 BECOMING ONE CITY Pages 22-25 FINANCIALS Pages 26-27 NEW INITIATIVES Pages 28-29
FOREWORD With the target date for the Millennium Development Goals approaching, 2013 was marked by reflections over progress made in reducing poverty. The debate over the post-2015 development agenda has inspired us at the Urban Partnerships for Poverty Reduction (UPPR) project to reflect on our performance in tackling urban poverty in Bangladesh. We have also considered how our lessons can inform the urban agenda and support the Government and people of Bangladesh as they plan beyond 2015. Good progress has been made in Bangladesh. For example, the urban population living below the poverty line is 40 percent less than in 2000, while nationwide gender parity at primary and secondary education levels has been attained. Such progress has been driven by a combination of economic growth and the commitment of Government and development partners to improve the living conditions of the people in Bangladesh. However challenges persist. The latest available data shows that 61 per cent of the urban population is still living in slums. Children in urban slums are 2.5 times more likely to be excluded from school than the national average. If we are to fulfil the Government’s 2021 vision of improving the lives of the urban poor and transforming slums into legitimate communities, we must support Local Government Institutions and communities to work together. Particular areas of focus include improving livelihoods, increasing access to basic services and
expanding tenure security. Given the vast needs of urban communities across Bangladesh, we understand that a single project cannot achieve the full extent of change that is needed. Such progress requires cooperation between the Government, development partners, civil society, and the private sector. In this regard UPPR is advising on the development of a new National Urban Poverty Programme. This annual report reflects what our project has achieved in reducing urban poverty since 2008. 2013 has been a particularly good year with respect to implementing our activities and working with communities and local Government partners to achieve sustainability. We are proud of our progress and believe that through empowering communities and combining the efforts of stakeholders, progress in reducing urban poverty will be multiplied in the coming years. It is our hope that this annual report will stimulate debate over the most effective way to move forward in Bangladesh post-2015. With our thanks for all of your support in 2013,
Md. Abdur Rashid Khan National Project DIrector
Executive Summary Communities participate
2,588
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEES
816,000
2
CDCs run their own savings & credit scheme
US$5.8M
US$6.9M
LOANS BY
SAVED BY
DECEMBER
DECEMBER
BY
3
300,0 IE S 00 FAMIL
SLUM DWELLERS
Women are empowered Empowered
83% Average score
1
61% 38%
Disempowered Community Leader
4
5
Access to services and livelihoods is expanded
EDUCATION
APPRENTICESHIPS
LATRINES
Member Saving
Member Not Saving
Multi-dimensional poverty is reduced
SMALL ENTERPRISES WATER FACILITIES
Poverty headcount Sample of 7 of the 23 towns
38,566 2013
school years
109,727 2009-2013
4
13,823 2013
trainees
61,136 2009-2013
40,183
20,304
47,085
families
grantees
families
2013
183,346 2009-2013
2013
108,688 2009-2013
2013
41.7% 28.9%
213,811 2009-2013
2009
2013
Working with partners
6 for sustainability
7 Increasing housing and tenure security LEGAL AID
HEALTH
SKILLS DEVELOPMENT
286,871 urban poor beneďŹ tted
5
$
COMMUNITY HOUSING DEVELOPMENT FUND
EDUCATION
Working with local governments
8 for pro-poor policy
23
joint action plans to instituionalize UPPR tools & approach
$
$
9 Expenditure so far $104,712,903
$91,169,071
87% Total Budget
Funds Spent 5
INTRODUCTION UPPR’s theory of change The urban poor are best placed to judge what their needs are and who amongst them is the most in need of support. By developing the capacity of three million urban poor to plan and manage their own development, the Urban Partnerships for Poverty Reduction (UPPR) project enables them to break out of urban poverty.
Consulting
Needs
Slum dwellers connected to the city
Because poverty is about more than income, a single project alone cannot achieve all the positive changes that are needed in the cities of Bangladesh. Thus, UPPR supports poor urban communities to establish partnerships with other development actors, government institutions and the private sector. Capitalizing on this collective reach, slum dwellers will be better able to access basic services and the job market. In turn this helps connect them to the city. This report UPPR began its work in 2008. Financed by UK aid, it is the Local Government Engineering Department (LGED) that hosts and executes UPPR at a national level. In the towns and cities in which UPPR works, it does so jointly with the Municipality or City Cooperation. UNDP manages the implementation of the Project, and UN-Habitat supports the components that work on mobilization and improving living conditions. This report summarizes the results from our work across the 23 target towns and cities in 2013. The structure of this report allows you to review the overall work done by UPPR while understanding how the approach impacts on the lives of urban poor in Bangladesh. Alongside the overall results of the project, this report features stories from women living in UPPR communities who share their experience and how the project has impacted on their life. The first chapter, Breaking out of Poverty, provides a snapshot of what we call the ‘people’s process’ of empowering the communities to take action. Furthermore, it presents an overview of UPPR’s community grants and the results achieved. The second chapter, Maximising our Reach, shows how UPPR works with partners to improve living conditions in the slums. The third chapter, Becoming one City, explains how we work closely with local governments to institutionalize the people’s process and support slum dwellers to achieve security of tenure. Finally we present a financial overview of 2013 as well as new initiatives which UPPR introduced this year. 6
Throughout the report… …we follow five inspiring women who live in a community called Golap in Dinajpur and who work together to break out of urban poverty. By bringing their stories to these pages, we hope to share insights into what the project really means for some of the women we work with. Here is an introduction to each of their lives:
Shampa lives with her husband and two daughters. She works as an assistant worker at construction sites and is the sole income earner in her family. Her husband has not worked for a number of months due to an injury. She is working to own a house one day.
Sokhina was categorized as extremely poor by her community in 2009. She lives alone and has been working at a rice mill in Dinajpur for 30 years. She works from 5am to 5pm every day. Her husband died 20 years ago. Her daughter lives in Dhaka and works in the garment sector.
Moyna lives with her husband who is a day labourer along with her daughter (13) and twin boys (8). Four days a week she works at a rice mill and also sells rice to her neighbours from her home. She is proud of how her life has improved.
Nurufa was categorized as poor in 2009. Today she is a tailor and lives with her husband who works at a restaurant. Her daughter is in the police force while her son has a rickshaw garage. She feels she is no longer poor.
Rojina is a group leader even though she left school at grade 8. She is married to a truck driver and shares her house with her mother. She saves 10Tk every week, thinking of her daughter’s future.
7
Introducing Golap, Dinajpur In order to create a spatial overview of the settlements where it works, UPPR supports the urban poor draw a social map. Using paper and markers, the participants map their community, including their homes, water sources, schools and hazards in the settlement. This is the social map of Mistreepara, the area where the Golap community is situated in Dinajpur. The five women who shared their life story for this report live in Dinajpur, a district in Northern Bangladesh. With a tropical wet and dry climate, the economy mainly depends upon agriculture based production, including ‘Katharivog’ rice, which some argue is the best produced rice in Bangladesh. Since 2009, UPPR has been supporting urban poor in Dinajpur across a range of activities, from infrastructure to socio-economic interventions that reflect on the multi-sectoral nature of the project. By including life stories of women from this town, it is our hope that our reader can get a glimpse on how we help communities tackle poverty in all its forms.
BREAKING OUT OF POVERTY
The people’s process To create the space for slum dwellers to make decisions over how to improve their living conditions, UPPR supports them to form Primary Groups, each comprising of around 20 households. In turn, these groups form Community Development Committees (CDCs) which assess the community’s physical and socio-economic needs and develop plans to act upon these. They also undertake a participatory identification of the poor (PIP) to decide who in their community is most in need of help. Aside from the funds provided by UPPR, members operate their own savings and credit groups. From their pooled capital, they grant loans to community members for microenterprise activities, housing and infrastructure repairs, and emergency situations.
30,000
26,020 SAVINGS & CREDIT GROUPS
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEES
A group of households affected by extreme poverty comes together to improve their living conditions
Each household saves at least tk 10 a week with their group. From this pool of funds, families in need can take a loan.
Representing about 200 households, CDCs plan and contract the necessary works to tackle poverty. 90% of the leaders are women.
PRIMARY GROUPS
10
2,588
2,329
ACTION PLANS
Plans can include self-help activities as well as those that require support from UPPR or other service providers.
PARTICIPATORY IDENTIFICATION OF THE POOR
The CDC agrees on the characteristics of poverty and then identifies which households are extremely poor, which are poor and which are non-poor.
Average score per category
Rojina’s story
Social Status 20 15 10
Agency
Personal Development
5 0
CDC leader (Saver) PG members (Saver) Member (Non-Saver)
Group Participation
Economic Conditions
WOMEN EMPOWERMENT STUDY
SAMPLE STUDY | 5 EMPOWERMENT CATEGORIES
Number of community members
With women playing the central role in leading our community structures, in 2013 UPPR engaged groups’ members to develop a women empowerment index. This measures five dimensions with indicators proposed by the women: status, personal development, economic, group participation and agency.
160 120
Distribution of scores across groups
80
PG members (Saver)
40
Member (Non-Saver)
CDC leader (Saver)
0
Less than 10 10 to 19 Low empowerment
20-29
30-39 40-49 50-59 60-69 Scores on the empowerment index
70-79
Rojina was born with a skin condition and her father, worried it would be difficult to marry her off later in life, left her mother when she was only three months old. Rojina and her mother then moved in with her grandfather until he was killed in a bus accident. Alone once again, her mother started to work at a rice mill and Rojina had no choice but to leave school when she was only 13. In 2009, Rojina joined the Golap Primary Group alongside 19 other women who wanted to work together to improve their lives. The Golap Primary Group has since become the axis of Rojina’s life. Soon after joining, her friends encouraged her to become their group leader and help manage UPPR funds as well as their own savings and credit group. In return, her neighbors give her a percentage of their annual profit made from the savings & credit activities. Rojina is so good at her role that she has gone to also become the treasurer of the CDC under which Golap falls. For this support, she also receives a monthly retribution from the community members.
80-89 More than 90 High empowerment
11
Giving communities control over poverty reduction UPPR provides multi-sectoral support by making funds available to communities to meet their diverse needs. The contracts are managed by the community themselves. The Socio-Economic Fund provides grants for families that need ďŹ nancial support. This includes a stipend for the education of children; grants for entrepreneur women that need capital to set up their own small enterprises; and grants for young women and men that want to acquire skills that will help them enter the job market. The Settlements Improvement Fund supports the communities with funds to contract physical works that will improve their living conditions, such as latrines, water points, drains and footpaths.
109,727 SOCIOECONOMIC FUND
USD 25m UPPR provides funds
SETTLEMENTS IMPROVEMENT FUND
12
USD 35m
YEARS OF SCHOOL
61,136
APPRENTICESHIPS
108,688
GRANTS FOR SMALL ENTERPRISES
Communities manage the funds and contract locally the works to implement the plans
63,669 LATRINES
9,815
WATER POINTS
909 km
OF FOOTPATHS
SHORT-TERM OUTCOMES STUDIES In 2013, UPPR undertook two studies in a sample of towns to measure short-term outcomes for households that had benefited from different SEF and SIF interventions. Water and sanitation outcomes were measured by two indexes that require households to fulfil several criteria to be considered as having adequate access to an improved source.
63%
93%
trainees with a job six months after the training
grantees still in business six months after receiving the grant
74%
66%
households with improved access to sanitation
households with improved access to water
Nurufa’s story Nurufa is a tailor. Surrounded by colourful and diverse fabrics on the floor, she can make you a maxi skirt for only 40 Tk. She has been doing this for 40 years. In 2009, Nurufa’s community categorized her as poor. Her husband did not have a regular job and her home did not have a toilet or place to wash where she felt safe and secure. Their shared toilet had three aluminium sheets for walls and a piece of cloth as the door. In order to wash, Nurufa would use the tubewell in the middle of their house which gave no privacy. While this was very uncomfortable for Nurufa, doing something about it would have cost at least 30,000 Tk. This was money she simply did not have. With funding from UK aid channelled through UPPR and her community’s support, Nurufa says that her privacy and security is much improved. Her community used available funding to build an improved latrine with brick walls and a proper door. Similarly walls have been built around the tubewell. These relatively simple steps have had a very positive impact on Nurufa’s life.
13
Understanding poverty One approach UPPR has taken to understanding poverty is the multidimensional poverty index (MPI) developed by Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative and UNDP. In 2013, UPPR used the MPI to measure multiple deprivations across health, education and living standards among the urban poor in 12 of the 23 towns. The MPI allows UPPR to count the number of people who are multidimensionally poor (headcount) and how many deprivations households have to deal with (intensity). The 12 towns included seven towns where UPPR did a baseline assessment in 2009. This allows us to compare snapshots of multidimensional poverty in these seven towns in 2009 and 2013.
Living Conditions
Households where any adult or child for whom there is nutritional information is malnourished
44.5%
intensity of poverty
Households where sanitation facility is not improved Households cooking with dung, wood or charcoal
the average is deprived of four to five out of nine indicators
Household not owning more than one radio, TV, phone, bike, motorbike or refrigerator and no car or truck Households with no access to safe drinking water Households with no electricity Household with a dirt, sand or dung floor Households where no member has completed five years of schooling
33.3%
are poor
Households where any school-aged child is not attending school up to class 8 Education
14
I N D I C A T O R S
Health
1 0
D I M E N S I O N S
Households with no access to safe drinking water
3
MULTIDIMENSIONAL POVERTY
POVERTY SNAPSHOT OF 12 TOWNS IN 2013
Poverty headcount
Sokina’s story
2009 - 2013 CHANGING POVERTY IN 7 TOWNS 34%
2009 Water
2013
18% 20%
2009 Nutrition
2013
14%
80%
2009 Cooking fuel
2013
81% 67%
2009 Latrines
Assets
2013
56%
2009
56%
2013
45%
14%
2009 Electricity
years of schooling
School attendance
2013
4%
2013
2009 2013
16%
20% 14%
55%
2009 Floor
2013
Sokina is extremely poor. Since her husband died 20 years ago, she has raised their only daughter on her own. Golap supported Sokina to make sure her daughter could go to school with a stipend to help cover the costs. Later Golap supported Sokina by installing a new water pump. Before that when she needed clean water to cook or wash herself she had to go to her neighbours’ house. The community also built a footpath outside her house. This has made a great difference, especially during the monsoon. Before the path would flood and the water could go up to her waist. This is no longer a problem.
18%
2009
Little by little Sokina has built her house with hard-earned money from working at a rice mill for 30 years. She heads to work before five in the morning every day, where she carries 90kg sacks of rice until seven in the evening. By the time Sokina’s goes home it is already dark. By candle light she has dinner and goes to bed.
39%
Sokina saves 10 taka every week with the Golap savings and credit group. She is saving for her daughter’s wedding but also future medical expenses. From the hard work she does every day and the pain in her legs, she knows she will need this one day. 15
Understanding poverty Stories from the slum dwellers
As part of its efforts to understand urban poverty in Bangladesh, UPPR launched the ‘We Tell’ photo project, a special initiative to highlight the experiences of girls and women in the slums of Bangladesh.
“Coming home from work”
by Munni, 21, Tongi
Thirty women and girls from three slums in Tongi, Khulna and Naogaon participated and documented their lives and those of their communities. Tutored by a professional photographer and provided with digital cameras, the participants explored issues and themes of their choosing. The results are intimate and striking portraits of families and communities at work and play. The images capture more than the difficulties of everyday life but also its joy and vibrancy.
“Tea at Crescent Bazaar”
by Liza, 20, Khulna
By putting the camera in the hands of these women and girls, UPPR hopes people will get a new insight into the realities of life in a poor urban settlement from the perspective of women who live there.
“Water is another name for life”
by Shompa, 20, Naogaon
16
MAXIMIZING OUR REACH
Connecting slum dwellers to the city LEGAL
UPPR supports community organizations to establish partnerships and linkages with other service providers. Collaborations with no exchange of funds are termed ‘linkages’ while those where the community organizations pay for the services provided by another entity are termed ‘partnerships’.
HEALTH
Breakdown of beneficiaries partnerships & linkages per sector in 2013
Partnerships and linkages are established with the recognition that no one project can meet and address all the different socioeconomic needs of poor urban communities effectively. In particular linkages provide a sustainable source of support for communities. For example, CDCs have established partnerships with private clinics so medical treatment for their members is provided at a lower cost. UPPR has also worked with community leaders to increase inclusion of their members in Government programs such as social protection schemes. As a result CDCs have begun connecting their members with longer lasting Government support.
18
SKILLS DEVELOPMENT
OTHERS
141
Partnerships established 2009-2013
697
Linkages established 2009-2013
Shampa’s story
10% 7% 14% 69%
Human rights Family law Women rights
Tailoring Handicraft Beauty parlour
Social protection Education Infrastructure
Family planning Nutrition Inmunization
In the four months since her husband had an accident at the rice mill where he used to work, Shampa has been the sole earner in her household. As an assistant on a construction site, she earns 180 Taka a day. For the last six years Shampa has been working from 8am to 530pm, mixing sand and cement before passing it on to other workers. From her salary, Shampa has been saving 10Tk every week and has started to pay back a loan she took from Golap in 2013. She has been building her own house. In addition Golap have provided a stipend to help cover her daughters’ education expenses. Her husband’s accident left him without his right hand finger. When they could not afford the necessary treatment, Shampa relied on Golap and its Community Development Committee (CDC). CDC leaders presented the case to the Medical College Hospital with which they had established a linkage in 2011. Shampa’s husband was finally treated for free at the hospital.
In 2013:
286,871 urban poor benefitted
19
Partnerships and linkages
Maximising access to financial services
UPPR works in collaboration with UN agencies, NGOs and the private sector. Through partnerships with other service providers, UPPR helps the urban poor access services and achieve sustainable poverty reduction. Partnerships and linkages can help UPPR in unlocking the potential of urban poor women through skills development. An example of this is the partnership with the Bangladesh Garment Manufactures & Exporters Association (BGMEA) and the International Labour Organisation (ILO). With this partnership a large number of poor and underprivileged women from the UPPR communities are trained and connected with one of the 5,000 garment factories under the umbrella of the association. With the support of partners, UPPR also helps poor children to access education as a way to break free from the cycle of poverty. We work with organizations like the Sheba Foundation, a non-profit organization, which helps communities in Chapai to run a pre-school, and Grameen Prodip, which gives support to UPPR community organizations in running an adult literacy programme. 20
UPPR and Dutch-Bangla Bank Ltd. have introduced DBBL’s Mobile Banking Services to UPPRs operations. Starting as a pilot, the services will be used to pay grants to beneficiaries in Savar and Tangail. Once the grant is approved, the beneficiary can withdraw the amount at the nearest UPPR Community Resource Centre (CRC) or from any of DBBL’s bank branches and ATMs. The linkage will not only result in smoother running of UPPR’s financial operations but will enable the urban poor to further access financial services. Beneficiaries will have access to banking services (including services such as utility payments and the topping-up of phone credit) without any annual fees. It will further allow beneficiaries to access savings and loan products through the formal banking sector.
Expanding access to basic services
UPPR, the Dhaka Water and Sewerage Authority (WASA) and Sobar Jonno Pani Limited (SJP) work together with the communities in Bhashantek to connect these to the city water supply. Following the expansion of the water network to Bhashantek, families are connected in their own houses to the WASA pipelines. WASA supplies clean drinking water to Bhashantek and communities commit to paying for the water, while SJP the responsible entity before WASA, collecting payments at the household level for water plus an additional charge to cater for the management, maintenance and operation of the local water network. With time, it is envisaged that the community and DWASA will become the main stakeholders of SJP in Bhashantek.
Increasing access to information
UPPR has supported communities to establish Community Resource Centers (CRCs), where slum dwellers can access NGO, private sector and government information and services, such as job applications and health and agricultural extension service information. At the same time, the Government of Bangladesh, supported by the Access to Information (a2i) project, has been establishing Pourashava Information and Service Centers (PISCs) throughout Bangladesh, which provide e-services, such as birth registration, university admission, passport and citizenship certiďŹ cate application, and mobile banking, apart from the information on government circulars and notices. The centers also provide citizens with computers, internet and telecommunication services. In an eort to streamline the service provision of the CRCs with the Government-run centers as well as to upgrade them to enable e-services, UPPR and a2i are working together to upgrade the CRCs to PISCs.
21
BECOMING ONE CITY
Becoming one city To support our communities to establish a dialogue with its Government representatives, UPPR works with Local Government Institutions (LGI) to increase their awareness of the needs of the urban poor and their capacity to address them. UPPR is a project of finite duration. By mainstreaming our best approaches into the LGI’s ways of operating we can ensure our contribution to urban poverty reduction continues.
Strengthening institutions
Institutionalising UPPR approaches
UPPR looks to build the capacity of LGI staff to take over its work. UPPR is working closely with the Pourashavas and City Corporations to provide the necessary orientation to council members and relevant staff of LGIs, including Slum Development Officers. In 2013, all Municipal Town Planners and Engineers in the 23 towns were trained on the Settlement Land Mapping (SLM) methodology and how SLM can be used for city planning and community development work.
UPPR has developed Joint Action Plans with local government institutions in the 23 towns where it operates. The plans outline the transfer of responsibilities from UPPR to LGIs, like the monitoring and backstopping of the savings & credit groups. Further, they elaborate on the provision of focused and targeted support for LGI staff to perform functions previously undertaken by UPPR town teams.
Influencing policy
Making services sustainable
2013 was an appropriate time both to reflect on the work of UPPR and look beyond March 2015. As the Government of Bangladesh and partners plan for a new generation of poverty reduction programmes, UPPR has been supporting the national dialogue by sharing its experience and lessons learned. In particular, UPPR is advocating for a multi-sectoral approach where communities and local government institutions jointly take the lead.
Materializing LGIs commitment to address urban poverty is critical. By the end of 2013, there was evidence that Pourashavas and City Corporations are willing to co-finance the implementation of UPPR activities in 2014. As demand for infrastructure activities was greater than the remaining budget, towns were invited to contribute funds. Four towns agreed by December and 13 further towns are due to make commitments in January 2014.
23
5 towns
Housing & tenure security UPPR has a two-track approach to improve tenure security. Firstly, it works for inclusive urban planning. Using Settlement Land Mapping (SLM), UPPR helps slum dwellers to map the low income settlements and plots of vacant land in the wards in which they live. Trained community members assess the poverty level of each settlement using sixteen indicators which include access to water, electricity and roads. Details on the vacant plots are recorded in case a settlement is destroyed or is in danger of being evicted and alternative living space is needed. UPPR works with Mayors to endorse the maps and include them in the Town Plans. Secondly UPPR supports the development of new models of security of tenure. For example where communities are at risk of eviction, UPPR supports them in negotiating with landowners in order to ďŹ nd a solution which safeguards the community. UPPR also works with communities to development Community Housing Development Funds from which the urban poor can take loans for housing purposes. 24
established
$ 16 INDICATORS TO DETERMINE POVERTY
COMMUNITY HOUSING DEVELOPMENT FUND
$
$
Mapping poverty in urban settlements
22
Using GIS maps, communities mark low-income settlements & plots of vacant land in 29 towns
towns endorsed Settlement Land Maps
15
Moyna’s story
settlements
Moyna looks at you through one glassy eye, due to a cataract problem, and smiles. One reason she is happy is that we are sitting in the house she bought in 2013. She did so with a loan of Tk 8,000 from the Golap savings and credit group along with Tk 2,000 of her own savings.
UPPR supports communities to negotiate better arrangements with their landowner
&
HOUSING
TENURE
SECURITY Maps are handedover to Local Governments for the recognition & inclusion of urban poor
Moyna’s life has not always been so cheerful and she still has to work hard every day. She was married when she was 12 and works at a rice mill for four days a week. Sometimes she does nightshifts, working until five in the morning. Moyna’s husband has not worked for some months due to health problems. In 2009, Moyna was categorized as being extremely poor by her neighbours in Golap. The community gave her a grant to start selling rice at her home. This supplements her income from working in the factory. Today Moyna has already paid half of her loan back to the group. Challenges remain for Moyna. Access to healthcare is an issue as the local clinic is not equipped to deal with her cataract problem. All the while her income must suffice for the needs of her famliy. Yet when asked about how she feels, Moyna smiles again and says she is proud of how far she has come. 25
FINANCIALS
Financial review
$104,712,903 $91,169,071
UPPR’s main donor is UK aid with additionall resources from the Government of Bangladesh and UNDP. We are committed to maximising the impact of each dollar spent to improve the lives of the poor.
Budget
Cumulative
Funds Spent
2013 Expenditure
SETTLEMENT IMPROVEMENT FUND
$9,439,084
SOCIO ECONOMIC FUND
$6,617,677
NUTRITION
$960,080
TRAINING & EQUIPMENT
$680,229
TOTAL
PARTNERSHIPS
$207,077
MANAGEMENT & PERSONNEL
$5,719,016
M&E
$109,209
$23,732,372 27
New initiatives in 2013
To ensure high quality delivery of UPPR funds for the benefits of slum dwellers
28
Programme to Accelerate Improved Nutrition
Research, Evaluation and Learning Unit
In 2013, UPPR started the distribution of iron and folic acid (IFA) supplements to 2,800 pregnant and breastfeeding women as well as 15,900 adolescent girls. De-worming tablets and multiple micronutrient supplements are also supplied to 11,700 children between 12-59 months and 9,700 adolescent girls. This project component will continue until August 2015.
RELU began operating in 2013 to improve UPPR’s measurement and reporting of results. It has carried out four studies including a quantitative analysis of multidimensional poverty and a participatory measurement of women’s empowerment. RELU has increased the quality and diversity of UPPR’s reporting, delivering a redesigned website; greater use of social media; and the launch of a quarterly newsletter.
Mutual Accountability Unit MAU was established in 2013 to strengthen internal controlsand financial systems in UPPR’s 23 town offices. MAU has reported an improvement in the financial management, governance and risk management systems across the towns. Average compliance with operational rules reached 92 percent in December 2013, up from 72 percent at the end of 2012.
National Urban Poverty Programme UPPR has been advising the Government of Bangladesh and partners in the development of a national urban poverty reduction program. To realize the Governments long-term plan of achieving greater decentralization to local governments and enable more effective urban governance the envisaged program has a focus on strengthening local government institutions and community structures to benefit 9 million urban poor.
29
None of our work would be possible without the funding and guidance of our donor, UKaid, and the commitment of the Government of Bangladesh to take forward the ďŹ ght against urban poverty. The dedication of our sta, the expertise brought in by the UN and the inspiring communities we work with was behind our impact in 2013.