Prime Minister's Economic Affairs Adviser Dr Mashiur Rahman said on Thursday considering human dignity as an indicator of development is a unique instance.
He came up with the observation while speaking at a book unveiling ceremony in Dhaka.
The cover of the book, titled “Sustainable Development, Human Dignity and Choice: Lessons from the ENRICH Program, Bangladesh” was unveiled at Palli Karma-Sahayak Foundation (PKSF) auditorium at Agargaon.
Speaking as the chief guest, Dr Mashiur Rahman said the concept of human dignity is not usually considered in discussions of economics or growth.
The study conducted on PKSF’s ENRICHES Programme considered human dignity as an indicator of development, which is a unique one, he said.
The economist hoped that the “ENRICH Programme” will be expanded in the future.
Chaired by PKSF chairman and renowned economist Dr Qazi Kholiquzzaman Ahmad, the function was addressed, among others, by PKSF managing director Dr Namita Halder and PKSF additional managing director Md Jasim Uddin.
Started in 2010, the PKSF’s ENRICH Programme is currently being implemented in 197 unions under 61 districts of the country. Under this programme, various services are being provided to 60 lakh members of 13.36 lakh families through 111 partner organisations.
To assess the effectiveness of the programme, Prof Dr Martin Greeley of the University of Sussex and associate professors of Dhaka University Dr Asif M Shahin and Dr Shubhasish Barua conducted an independent study on it.
Based on the findings of the study, the book titled “Sustainable Development, Human Dignity and Choice: Lessons from the ENRICH Program, Bangladesh” was published in the Springer Nature journal.
The study reveals the impact of the special credit service offered by ENRICH on well-being and occupation changes at the household level.
The ENRICH has a strong positive impact on the well-being of the households, measured by per capita real monthly income and real monthly expenditure on clothing but not on food expenditure.
ENRICH loan component has a statistically significant impact on improving the occupational status of the participant households, the research says.
