Poverty in Bangladesh: Impact of Natural Disasters on Economic Development

This essay discusses poverty in Bangladesh in the backdrop of natural disasters. It highlights the impact of natural disasters on economic development, allocation of resources, and poverty rate.

Running head: POVERTY IN BANGLADESH
Poverty in Bangladesh
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author’s Note:

1POVERTY IN BANGLADESH
Poverty is a problem from which the majority of the countries of the world are
suffering at the current moment. One of the major reasons for the increase in the number of
people living below the line of poverty is because of the fact of unequal distribution of wealth
within the framework of a society or nation (Osman, Shahan and Jahan 2015). There are
other factors as well for the increase in the number of people living below the line of poverty
in the various under developed as well as the developing nations of the world like the lack of
job opportunities, educational opportunities, high rate of inflation, natural disasters and others
(Osman, Shahan and Jahan 2015). These factors have contributed in a cumulative manner to
further enhance the distress felt by the people of the various nations of the world. Thus,
according to the World Bank (2018), more than half of the population of the world, that is,
nearly 3 billion people of the world had to sustain themselves with less than $2.50 per day in
addition to the 1.5 billion population of the world which lives below the extreme poverty line,
that is, had to sustain themselves with only $1.25 per day. Furthermore, according to a report
of UNICEF (2018), more than 22,000 children from the different parts of the world had to
die every day because of poverty. Therefore, it would be apt to say that poverty is one of the
major problems which is inflicting the world at the current moment and its remedy is of
paramount importance for the maintenance of the normal life of the individuals. This essay
will discuss about the poverty in the nation of Bangladesh in the backdrop of the various
natural disasters which are a common part of the nation.
The “People's Republic of Bangladesh” located in the southern part of the continent
of Asia is a developing nation (Khan et al. 2015). The nation was once a part of the Indian
Subcontinent and it was in the year 1971 that the nation gained independence from the Indian
subcontinent (Khan et al. 2015). The economy of the nation is the 43rd largest one of the
world in terms of the nominal wealth and the 30th largest one in terms of the purchasing
power (World Bank. 2018). The primary source of wealth of the nation is the agricultural

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sector of the nation and this particular sector contributes in a significant manner towards the
subsistence of the nation (Daoud, Halleröd and Guha-Sapir 2016). In the recent times it is
seen that the nation has developed various kinds of industries which has contributed in a
significant manner towards the revival of the economy of the nation (Daoud, Halleröd and
Guha-Sapir 2016). Another recent trend seen in the nation is that the various companies
belonging to the first world countries as well as the developed nations of the world are
outsourcing as well as offshoring their business operations to this nation because of the cheap
labor costs and also because of the comparatively less cost of business operation s in this
particular nation (Khan et al. 2015). However, the major problem which is inflicting the
nation at the current moment is the problem of poverty. According to a statistics, the poverty
rate of the nation is around 31%, which means that almost 31% citizens of the nation are
living below the poverty line and had to sustain themselves at only $1.25 per day (World
Bank. 2018). Furthermore, according to another statistics provided by the World Bank, the
nation has shown signs of improvement in terms of the level of poverty which it is facing at
the current. Thus, the poverty rate of the nation has decreased by almost 18% in the last five
years and the poverty percentage of the nation is expected to come under 10% by the year
2030 (World Economic Forum. 2018). This is generally seen to be the end result of the
policies adopted by the government of the nation and also the venture of the various foreign
companies in the nation from the different nations of the world (Daoud, Halleröd and Guha-
Sapir 2016). However, recent events have shown that one of the major factors which have
contributed in a significant manner towards the high rate of poverty faced by the nation is the
numerous natural disasters that constantly plague the nation (Matin and Rahman 2018). For
instance, in the past 38 years as many as 38 major cyclones have wreaked havoc in the nation
in addition to the numerous storms, floods, earthquakes and the other kinds of natural
disasters (Matin and Rahman 2018).

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Human beings have made a significant amount of advancement in the recent times
and this is reflected in the lifestyle lead by the people and quality of healthcare and other
kinds of facilities which the people have access to in the present times (Hernandez et al.
2016). However, it is significant to note that inspite of the technological and other kinds of
advancements made by the people they have yet not been able to control the various
processes of nature and it is a reflection of this particular fact that various kinds of natural
disasters still continue to inflict the human beings just like they used to inflict the human
beings thousands of years ago (Hernandez et al. 2016). Thus, in the present times as well it is
seen that various kinds of natural disasters continue to inflict the human society in the form of
various kinds of storms, cyclones, floods, earthquakes and others (Alam et al. 2018). These
natural disasters cause a significant amount of damage not only in terms of economic
drainage but at the same time in terms of loss of property, lives and other aspects (Alam et al.
2018). In addition to these, it is generally seen that these natural disasters cause a significant
amount of harm to the mental as well as the emotional well being of the individuals as well
(Alam et al. 2018).
The nation of Bangladesh is prone to various kinds of natural disasters since the
ancient times and many experts are of the viewpoint that one of the primary reasons for this
particular fact is the natural location of the nation (Mondal et al. 2015). Thus, because of the
natural location of the nation the nation every year ends up having a number of storms,
cyclones, norwesters and others (Mondal et al. 2015). The various kalboishakhi which the
nation faces every year during and after the rainy season is a pertinent example of this
particular fact (Mondal et al. 2015). The June 2007 landslide which nation faced killed more
than 160 people and rendered more than 6,000 people homeless (Mondal et al. 2015). In
addition to these, the major natural calamity which the nation faced in the year 2004, namely,
Tsunami was by far the biggest natural calamity that the nation faced in terms of the damage

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caused by it (Osman, Shahan and Jahan 2015). Some other examples of significant natural
calamities which the nation has faced in the recent times are “Cyclone or Violent wind Aila
(May 2009)”, “Violent wind Sidr (November 2007)”, Typhoon (April 1991) and others
(Matin and Rahman 2018). In addition to these, the nation has also experienced various kinds
of earthquakes in the recent times like “2017 Tripura earthquake, May 2015 Nepal
earthquake, August 2016 Myanmar earthquake” and others (Matin and Rahman 2018).
Furthermore, the nation has been a constant site of various kinds of floods and almost every
year during the rainy season the nation faces various kinds of flood (Osman, Shahan and
Jahan 2015). Some of the recent floods which have caused a considerable amount of
destruction are “2017 South Asian floods, 2000 India-Bangladesh floods” and others
(Matin and Rahman 2018). These apart from the other natural disasters are the major which
have wreaked a significant amount of havoc in the nation of Bangladesh.
The above mentioned natural disasters have taken a significant amount of toll on the
nation of Bangladesh. There are various kinds of damage which these natural disasters have
cause to the nation like the loss of economic means, the destruction of crops, loss of
property, various kinds of injuries, illnesses, diseases and others (Daoud, Halleröd and
Guha-Sapir 2016). Thus, it is generally seen that a considerable proportion of the population
of the nation has migrated to the other adjoining nations of the region. For example, for the
year 2017 the various floods which have inflicted the nation of Bangladesh damaged around
353,000 houses and the estimated destruction of property that these floods caused was more
than $1.2 million dollars (Daoud, Halleröd and Guha-Sapir 2016). In addition to these, the
floods at the same time “damaged 800,000 hectares of crops, 9,160 kilometres of roads and
washed away 1,800 schools” (Bangladesh.gov.bd 2018). The support provided by the United
Nations to overcome the adverse effects of these floods was more than “US$ 1.16 million”
(World Economic Forum. 2018). In addition to these, for the control of the damage done by

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the “Cyclone Sidr in 2012” the “Emergency 2007 Cyclone Recovery and Restoration
Project (ECRRP)” had to spend more than $356.82 million (Bangladesh.gov.bd 2018).
Moreover, for the mitigation of the adverse effect of the various coastal cyclones the
“Coastal Embankment Improvement Project (CEIP)” had to spend more than $400
million in addition to the $375 million spent by the “Multipurpose Disaster Shelter Project
(MDSP)” for the mitigation of the damage caused by the other kinds of natural disasters that
the nation faced since the year 2015 (Bangladesh.gov.bd 2018). Furthermore, the “Urban
Resilience Project (URP)” had spent more than $173 million for the development of the
natural disaster hit areas (Bangladesh.gov.bd 2018). The nation of Bangladesh in order to
better equip itself against the various kinds of natural disasters have developed “Bangladesh
Weather and Climate Services Regional Project” which has added another $113 million to
the disaster management fund of the nation (Bangladesh.gov.bd 2018).
The above mentioned funds as well as projects have taken a significant amount of toll
on the economy of the nation. As already mentioned the nation of Bangladesh is a developing
one and also the economy of the nation is not a very stable one and therefore it needs to
allocate the funds which it had at its disposal for the development of the nation (Osman,
Shahan and Jahan 2015). However, the various kinds of natural disasters which the nation has
been facing for a very long impact the allocation of the resources of the nation for the various
developmental activities in a significant manner (Osman, Shahan and Jahan 2015). Thus, it is
seen that the resources which the nation should have allocated for the development of
infrastructure, various industries, educational facilities and others is being spent on the
various disaster relief services (Osman, Shahan and Jahan 2015). These in turn has
contributed in a significant manner towards the increase in the amount of poverty which the
people of the nation are suffering from at the current moment. A pertinent example of this
particular fact is the lack of quality educational opportunities, employment opportunities,

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health care facilities and other which the people of the nation are getting at the current
moment (Barrientos and Hulme 2016). It is a reflection of this particular factor that whereas
the unemployment percentage in the nation of USA is only 3.9% whereas the unemployment
percentage of the nation of Bangladesh is 4.2% (World Economic Forum. 2018). In addition
to these, the government of the nation is unable to give the right kind of attention needed for
the various developmental programs because of the constant natural disasters with which the
nation is being inflicted with (Barrientos and Hulme 2016). Furthermore, one of the
prerequisites for the sound development of a nation is a stable environmental condition which
the nation is unable to get because of the constant natural disasters that it had to face in the
recent times (Alam et al. 2018). These factors have contributed in a significant manner to
enhance the rate of poverty of the nation which in turn has lead to the increased amount of
unemployment in the nation, the lack of quality education, technological advancements,
health care facilities and others.
The government of the nation in order to counteract the adverse effects of these
natural disasters has developed various kinds of disaster management measures as well as
policies. Some of the most important projects adopted by the nation in the recent times
counteract the adverse effects of the natural disasters are “Urban Resilience Project (URP)”,
“Multipurpose Disaster Shelter Project (MDSP)”, “Coastal Embankment Improvement
Project (CEIP)” and others (Bangladesh.gov.bd 2018). In addition to these, the “Ministry of
Disaster Management and Relief” built in the year 1972 provides various kinds of
emergency relief services to the people who have been affected by the natural disasters
(Bangladesh.gov.bd 2018). Furthermore, the nation has created its own “Disaster
Management Department” which along with the “Disaster Management Bureau” of the
nation, set up in the year 1991 provides relief services to the victims of the natural disasters
(Bangladesh.gov.bd 2018). Moreover, the nation also provides various kinds of training to the

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people of the nation with the objective to equip them in a much better so that they are able to
counteract the negative impacts of the various kinds of natural disasters (Alam et al. 2018). In
addition to these, the nation has created its own weather forecast department which provides
regular weather forecasts to the people with the objective to forewarn the people about the
impending climatic event so that they develop mitigation strategies for the same (Alam et al.
2018). Moreover, the recently launched “Bangladesh Weather and Climate Services Regional
Project” also provides valuable data about the impending climatic natural disasters which the
people need to take into consideration (Bangladesh.gov.bd 2018). These projects as well as
initiatives of the government have acted in a significant manner to empower the people of the
nation against the various kinds of natural calamities and to take effective remedial measures
beforehand so as to reduce the damage done by them (Osman, Shahan and Jahan 2015).
To conclude, the various kinds of natural disasters have impacted the various nations
of the world in a significant manner. These natural disasters affect the various nations of the
world in an adverse manner and not only cause a significant amount of damage in terms of
loss of property and lives but at the same time affect the mental as well as physical well being
of the individuals in a significant manner. Furthermore, recent events have shown that
although human beings have made a considerable amount of advancement various fields of
knowledge yet they are quiet helpless against the nature which still acts as a dominant force.
Thus, the best thing which the various nations of the world can do is to prepare themselves as
well as take the help of diverse kinds of remedial disaster management measures with the
objective to mitigate the harm done by these natural events.

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