Focusing policy attention towards the extreme poor is important, because existing opportunities may not work very well for them. This can be due to mismatches in the structure of opportunities available and the complex structure of constraints faced by the extreme-poor. Since January 2002, BRAC has started a new program for the extreme poor called Challenging the Frontiers of Poverty Reduction-Targeting the Ultra-Poor (CFPR/TUP) program. As the CFPR/TUP uses an elaborate and integrated targeting approach, it provides a unique opportunity to collect detailed data on the extreme poor. This report is based on two baseline surveys carried out by BRAC’s Research and Evaluation Division in 2002 and 2003. The report is presented in two parts —the first part (Chapters 1 to 9) is based on an analysis of the data from the 2002 baseline survey carried out in the 2002 CFPR/TUP districts, while the second part is based on the analysis of the 2003 baseline survey that focused on collecting detailed food consumption and nutrition data. This was carried out in the new four districts covered by the CFPR/TUP program in 2003. The report found two main messages from this analysis of the baseline data. Firstly, in almost all dimensions severe inequities exist in the sense that the extreme poor fare significantly poorly compared to the national rural average figures. Secondly, even among the extreme poor as defined by the community through PWR exercises, important differences exist. In most of the variables considered here, it was found that the SUP group fare far more poorly than the NSUP group. The report concluded that it is a good starting point to develop actions to overcome poverty in an inclusive way, where the needs of the extreme poor can be addressed.
Authors: Matin, Imran; Hadi, Abdullahel; Ahmed, Syed Masud
Type: Report
Year: 2004
