"The System of BRAC is a Complete One for Development"

So says Professor Gilbert Bukenya, the Vice President of Uganda. As we blogged last week, His Excellency Vice President Bukenya was visiting Bangladesh to witness first-hand the work of BRAC in its country of origin. According to BDNews24's article reporting a news conference at the BRAC Centre Inn in Dhaka, Professor Bukenya said he was 'highly impressed by BRAC's initiatives to mobilise local people to borrow money to establish enterprises', and also praised BRAC's health programs for their impact on the rural poor. The latter is something we are especially proud of, since aside from being a politician Professor Bukenya is a Doctor of Medicine and also possesses a Doctorate of Philosophy in Public Health.

His Excellency Professor Bukenya (left) seen speaking to the press with BRAC Chairperson Dr. Fazle Abed. Photo by BDNews24

The news conference wrapped up the Vice President's six-day trip to the capital of Bangladesh. He noted that there were many similarities between Uganda and Bangladesh, such as the mindset of the people and the high prevalence of poverty (In Uganda, 32% of the population live on less than $1 a day; in Bangladesh the figure is 36%).

Despite that rather sobering statistic, Professor Bukenya came armed with possible solutions for the future, suggesting the need to improve the meager $1 million trade volume between the two countries. He felt that the textile and food processing industries were two areas where there are enormous potential benefits that could be reaped.

Developing countries such as Bangladesh are often at a disadvantage while trading with their more affluent counterparts due to protectionist policies that are still implemented by rich countries. Professor Bukenya pointed out the problem - 'Bangladeshi textile's major destination is the US where you have to face issues like quotas and tariffs' - and raised an alternative - 'in Uganda we have no such conditions'.

This proposal is a further step forward in the recent surge of South-South collaboration, one of the brighter lights in the embattled field of international development. Click here and here to read about BRAC's own successes in the fields of textile and food processing in Bangladesh.

Click here to read the BDNews24 article.