IT is heartening to note that extreme poverty in Bangladesh declined further to 12.9 per cent in the financial year (FY) 2015-16, as per the latest Bangladesh Development Update, released by the World Bank (WB). It is a significant achievement for Bangladesh and a positive pointer to the fact that if we work hard, we shall be able to reduce poverty rate close to zero. It has been estimated that some 16 million people were lifted from abject poverty between years 2000 and 2010. This is how we shall be able to achieve economic emancipation and enjoy the fruits of liberation.
The people of Bangladesh have been struggling hard to wriggle out from the clutches of poverty since independence. There is no denying that we must be united as a nation to achieve prosperity and build a progressive Bangladesh. Our country has already become a role model for some countries who are fighting hard to come out of the cycle of poverty and backwardness. We must attain ideal development to bring smile on millions of faces and encourage other nations to emulate our feats. Every year two million young men and women enter the job market and we must create enough job opportunities for them so they can get employment and contribute to the national economy. It is high time our politicians irrespective of the political divide got over narrow gains to take the country on the road to prosperity.
Rumana Sharmeen
Dhaka University
Â