Asia blog

Bangladesh reduced poverty from 40 percent to 31.5 percent between 2005 and 2010, according the new Household Income & Expenditure Survey (HIES) 2010. Progress can also be seen in other dimensions of development.

The HIES is a major source of socio-economic information at the household level in Bangladesh. It provides data on household expenditure, income, consumption, savings, housing conditions, education, employment, health, sanitation, water supply, electricity usage, etc.
read more
check out our ads below, they maybe of interest.

We’ve launched a two-day online discussion on Bangladesh’s Economic Growth at the World Bank Bangladesh Facebook page. Through the online discussion, we hope to initiate dialogue with you on Bangladesh’s economy, the possibilities and the binding constraints for its continued growth.

Our economists will answer your questions and moderate the discussion. We encourage you to share your thoughts or ask questions on these pertinent issues and are looking forward to hosting more discussions on different themes.
Join us, leave comments, and invite your friends!
What? Bangladesh’s Economic Growth: How can Bangladesh can embark on its journey towards higher growth?
When? August 25 and 26, 2011
Where? World Bank Bangladesh on Facebook
Let us know what you think!
read more
thanks for visiting today!

Are you between 18 – 30 years of age?
Are you interested in a career in development practice?
Are you engaged in or would like to engage with a youth network working on Youth related development issues?
If yes, join us at the World Bank Sri Lanka Youth Open House, interact with World Bank staff and learn more…
Date: September 1, 2011
Venue: First Floor Conference Room, World Bank Colombo Office, 1st Floor- DFCC Bank building, 73/5, Galle Road Colombo 3
Please note: space is limited and admission will be on first come first serve basis. If you plan to attend, please send a request with a brief introduction to infosrilanka@worldbank.org by 4:00 p.m. on Monday August 29, 2011. Please clearly indicate the session/sessions you would like to attend. We will then send you a gate pass to attend confirming your participation.
read more
more news brought to your by our blog, thanks for visiting

A huge thanks to everyone who participated in the Annual Meeting South Asia Youth Delegates competition!
With so many fascinating and well qualified applicants, it was truly difficult to narrow them down. After days of rigorous review and deliberations, we’d like the candidates below to join us.
No matter what, we would like to continue working together with all of you on different initiatives going forward. Please let us know your thoughts and how we can work together in the near future. Thank you! 
read more
I like this:)

It has been a long journey for Shekar Nalla –from a small tribal village in Andhra Pradesh, India to selling insurance products in the metropolitan city of Hyderabad.
Shekar’s family lived a hand to mouth existence, and he thought that maybe someday in the future he would earn Rs. 24,000 (US$400) per year. But now, Shekar earns Rs. 156,000 (US$3000) annually through his new job with an insurance company.
His widowed mother no longer has to struggle because Shekhar sends her Rs. 60,000 (US$1500) a year. With his new job the status of the family has risen among the village headman and higher caste members, especially when he sent home a colored Samsung TV—the first in his village. “Richer relatives who avoided us, call me saying, ‘Shekar can you show me a job’,” said Shekhar.
The United Nations commemorated the International Year of Youth from August 11, 2010 to August 11, 2011. To promote youth participation towards progress and development, the Rural Livelihoods team at the World Bank has put youth like Shekar Nalla at the forefront of poverty reduction and maximizing rural growth.
read more
does anyone know the real story

The three decade long war in Sri Lanka was instigated due to unmet youth aspirations. Today, Sri Lanka is well known as a post conflict country. No Sri Lankan in their right minds would like to witness the same again. As a Sri Lankan who has lived and worked most of my life in Sri Lanka, I can’t help but feel that my future could have been different if there was no conflict during the best part of my youth. I know many others feel the same.
Right now, most of Sri Lanka’s population is of working age. This demographic bonus was opened in the 1990s and will close in a few years time. According to Prof. Indralal De Silva from the University of Colombo, this demographic dividend will close in 2017, given the current trends.
It’s time all decision makers and development practitioners think YOUNG. Youth need to be mainstreamed into development work and given a seat at the table to actively participate in policy making processes.
read more
maybe this will change things

Earlier this year, Mohammed Faruk Ahmed was one of 37,000 Bangladeshi migrant workers forced to flee the conflict in Libya.
Forsaking his job and only source of income, he returned home empty handed. Watch this video to know how returnee migrants like Ahmed, now have a chance to rebuild their life, thanks to a World Bank-sponsored initiative to repatriate and support Bangladeshi migrants from Libya.

read more
oh i can’t beleive it

Batticaloa District, in the Eastern Province of Sri Lanka is an ethnically diverse city with a population of approximately 490,000. The three decade old civil war wreaked havoc in this beautiful coastal town where the majority of the people are Tamil (74.5%) with a smaller Muslim (23.5%) and a Sinhala (1.3%) community living amidst some amount of tension over their ethnic differences.
Driving into Batticaloa town was a pleasant surprise for me after almost ten years. The bustling town was visually coming alive with the excellent road network that made the long drive from Colombo a real pleasure. Well constructed roads, the new and gleaming centre median lamp posts and the ongoing construction work painted a very positive feeling about the overall development of downtown Batticaloa, which was a welcome change for me. Batticaloa town’s landscape was surely changing. Needless to say I was wowed!
read more
how does this impact my state

2011 Flagship: More and Better Jobs in South Asia Thursday, September 22, 2011 from 2:30PM to 4:30PM
 
read more
thanks for delivering this story to me

‘Equal to whom?’ seems to be my burning question when I see women in post conflict Sri Lanka battling it out all alone due to their present circumstances.
A three decade old war that ravaged north – east of Sri Lanka is now in the throes of reaping its peace dividends, slowly…
The war changed not just the landscape of the north-east Sri Lanka, but also the demographic profile, leaving many widows and women headed families destitute. While the official head count of this group is yet to be released by the government, it is apparent that the male to female ratio that was almost 50 -50 has now changed significantly in this part of the country.
“I am the mother, father and the entrepreneur of my family” sums up the plight of 26 year old Sutharshini. A widow who has lost her husband and brother to the war that forever changed the lives of many Sri Lankan Tamils. Sutharshini and her two children represent the typical Sri Lankan Tamil woman who has just been resettled after being an internally displaced person (IDP) in a refugee camp for almost a year.
read more
oh i can’t beleive it