Poverty, protection and exclusion in rural Bangladesh

Abstract

Social protection is one of the key strategies of fighting against long-lasting and intergenerational poverty in Bangladesh. The concept has significantly evolved both in scale and scope in recent times. Targeted pro-poor interventions in public services and safety net programmes have been scaled up. However, access to institutions is an issue of grave concern especially for poor people. Although, recent years have witnessed almost 100 per cent school enrolment, drop out rate is still high especially among the ultra poor children. Advocacy is BRAC’s latest tool to address the critical issues of accessibility and utilisation of resources by the ultra poor. Looking at social protection interventions through the conceptual lens of ‘social exclusion’, this study seeks to understand how and why the poorest face constraints in gaining access to public services and entitlements, and why the ultra poor children discontinue regular schooling and drop out from primary education. Built on a mixed method approach, the study identifies a number of important mechanisms through which the poorest are excluded from their entitlements. There are a number of mediating processes through which they are included, but allegedly often in the elites’ terms and conditions. Besides, the study highlights a number of critical factors that force children to discontinue schooling.