Easy access to courts and exercise of legal rights have been recognised in the constitution as core rights of citizens in Bangladesh. However, backlog of cases in courts and the costs and complexities associated with legal recourse often results in a situation where citizens are denied of their rights.
Cottage, micro, small and medium enterprises (CMSMEs) constitute a crucially important segment of the Bangladesh economy in terms of employment, earnings and contribution to the country’s GDP. Majority of these enterprises belonged to the informal sector of the economy.
Remittance flows contribute significantly to the Bangladesh economy, both at the household level and at the level of macro-economic management. Contrary to general expectations, during the pandemic year of 2020 remittance earnings posted a remarkable rise of about 18 per cent.
In recent times there has been a trend of rising rice prices which had adverse impacts on purchasing power of consumers and their welfare. On the other hand, farmers are not being able to benefit from the rise in prices of rice.
চলমান কোভিড—১৯ অতিমারি বাংলাদেশ সহ সারাবিশ্বকে চরম সংকটের মুখে ফেলেছে। সম্প্রতি করোনা প্রতিষেধক বাজারে আসার পরে বিশ্ব ও দেশব্যাপী এক আশাবাদ সৃষ্টি হয়েছে। তবে বাংলাদেশে টিকার লভ্যতা, অর্থায়ন, বিতরণ, সংরক্ষণ এবং পরবর্তী সুষ্ঠু ব্যবস্থাপনা ইত্যাদি গুরুত্বপূর্ণ বিষয় নিয়ে আলোচনা চলছে।
২০২০ সালের এপ্রিল থেকে সরকার কোভিড-১৯ অতিমারির বিরূপ প্রভাব মোকাবেলায় বেশকিছু প্রণোদনা প্যাকেজ ঘোষণা করেছিল। বাংলাদেশ ব্যাংক এই প্রণোদনা প্যাকেজ প্রস্তুতিতে এবং তার বাস্তবায়নে একটি গুরুত্বপূর্ণ ভূমিকা পালন করেছে যেহেতু প্রণোদনা প্যাকেজের একটি বড় অংশই ছিল ভর্তূকী-সুদে ব্যাংক-নির্ভর ঋণ বিতরণ।
Voluntary National Reviews (VNRs) are part of the follow-up and review mechanisms of the 2030 agenda for Sustainable Development. This is done to encourage member states to conduct regular and inclusive reviews of progress at the national and sub-national levels. The VNRs aim to facilitate the sharing of experiences, including successes, challenges and lessons learned, with a view to accelerating the implementation of the 2030 agenda.
This Briefing Note has been prepared based on the outcome of the virtual dialogue titled “Experiences from the current situation at the grassroots level: Achievements and challenges” held on 8 July 2020.It was attended by 80 professionals including development activists, business leaders, researchers, academics, youth representatives, and journalists who are actively engaged in dealing with the COVID-19 induced challenges across the country.
This document puts forward grassroots level insights as regards the challenges faced by different marginalised communities and the private sector as a consequence of the pandemic. A number of sectoral issues, particularly relevant in view of the SDGs, were also discussed. The takeaways from this briefing note might be useful for formulating an effective public policy response to tackle the COVID-19 induced challenges towards SDG attainment in Bangladesh.
This document has been prepared with the aim to provide some specific actionable policy recommendations to the concerned authorities based on the issues and challenges identified through the discussion at the Platform dialogue. It is hoped that the findings from this briefing note will be useful for formulating an effective strategy towards better coordination and management of the COVID-19 challenges in the country, which would assure the citizens on overcoming the crisis sustainably.
