BRAC launched its Ultra-Poor Graduation (UPG) program in 2002, and in 2007 conducted the first randomized control trial to rigorously evaluate its impact. The study covered 20 treatment and 20 controlled branches, selecting extremely poor households through a combination of participatory and indicator-based targeting. In the treatment branches, each selected household—represented by a designated woman member—received assets, mentoring, and other support until 2009 to create a pathway out of poverty. Seventeen years later, in 2024, BIGD traced children who were under 15 years old at baseline and are now young adults aged 16–33. The survey data show that this comprehensive anti-poverty intervention not only lifted most of the original families’ economic well-being but also shaped the lives of their daughters. This brief presents key results from the 17-year follow-up of 7,304 households and 4,454 girls.
Authors: Sulaiman, Munshi; Ahmed, Shaila; Haque, Sheikh Touhidul; and Hossain, Marzuk A. N.
Type: Evidence and Insights
Publisher: BIGD
Year: 2025
