Food Security
Distinguished leader
Dedicated to
fighting poverty,
development champion
Wins World
Food Prize
S
ir Fazle Hasan Abed from Bangladesh, a renowned founder and chairperson of BRAC, has
developed the world’s largest non-governmental organization, providing an unprecedented
opportunity over four decades for nearly 150 million people worldwide to improve their lives,
benefit from enhanced food security and follow a pathway out of poverty.
Sir Fazle Hasan Abed, a distinguished non-profit founder and
chairperson who has dedicated his life’s work to fighting poverty,
was awarded the World Food Prize on October 15, among an
international audience at the Iowa State Capitol in Des Moines,
USA.
“While it was set up in the context of the post-war reconstruction
in Bangladesh, and its initial focus was on basic needs and
strengthening livelihoods, Abed soon realized that the better
strategy would be to complement state efforts rather than
repeating them.
Sir Fazle, who was knighted by the British Crown in 2009, has
grown BRAC (formerly known as Bangladesh Rural Advancement
Committee) into the largest non-governmental organization.
BRAC has provided the opportunity for nearly 150 million people
worldwide to improve their lives, by enhancing food security and
enabling them to follow a pathway out of poverty. The scale and
impact of BRAC’s work in Bangladesh and ten other countries is
unprecedented.
“BRAC is constantly innovating. While funding was important,
Abed realized that the organization needed some internal
financial resources in order to steer its course, rather than become
diverted by donor agendas. He therefore set up a considerable
number of commercial enterprises as part of the BRAC ‘brand.’
These include printing presses, poultry and dairy industries, a
hotel, conference facilities, retail outlets and the private BRAC
University, among others. Surpluses from these enterprises go
into supporting BRAC’s development programs.”
New approach
He pioneered a new approach to development that has effectively
and sustainably addressed the interconnectedness between hunger
and poverty. In this regard, Sir Fazle has broken new ground by
melding scalable development models, scientific innovation, and
local participation to confront the complex causes of poverty,
hunger, and powerlessness among the poor.
Sir Fazle’s leadership has led BRAC to be hailed as the most
effective anti-poverty organization in the world. Empowering and
educating women and girls has been central to BRAC’s success
in confronting hunger and malnutrition and lifting millions out of
poverty in Bangladesh and 10 other countries. The global reach
of BRAC is unprecedented, with more than 110,000 employees
around the world, and a further 150,000 BRAC-trained
entrepreneurs providing low-cost goods and services (such as
seeds, medicine and training) to their rural neighbours.
Many luminaries in fight against poverty have lauded Dr Fazle.
The Chairman of the World Food Prize Selection Committee Dr.
Swaminathan lauded BRAC and its founder, writing that:
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SABI | DECEMBER 2015/JANUARY 2016
And finally, Dr. Paul Collier, professor of Economics at Oxford
University and author of H