Completed Projects

Harmonize the Actions against inequalities and Oppressions of Rights (HAOR)

Duration: August 2013 to July 2016

Donor: Manusher Janno Foundation (MJF)

Number of beneficiaries: 153000

 Manusher Janno Foundation (MJF) has taken approval from NGO-AB and IED is the implementation partner of Manusher Janno Foundation (MJF)

 Brief description of the project

The major focus of the project is the Accountability and responsiveness of local government institutions for ensuring rights of poor and vulnerable segments of the society. The project interventions will contribute to increasing accountability, transparency, participation, monitoring and coordination which caused the local government institutions including the UPs to deliver improved services to the people. The expected outcomes of the project are as follows:

Outcomes

The project interventions will contribute to increasing accountability, transparency, participation, monitoring and coordination which caused the local government institutions including the UPs to deliver improved services to the people

  • More than 8,500 poor and marginalized particularly women raised their voice and claimed their rights and entitlements through establishing 63 ward level platforms, 7 union level community forums and 2 Upazilla People’s Forum and creating network with GoB line agencies particularly those provided services at union, Upazilla and district level, NGOs working in the same field and civil society actors.
  • 9702 poor and marginalized households received various services from local government authorities and public extension agencies
  • 80% of the citizen groups claim their rights to local government authorities and public extension agencies
  • 7300 Households Safety-Net recipients
  • 15 Poor & marginalized elected in LG
  • More than 50% groups (poor men, women and marginalised) have increased income.
  • 30% increase in revenue collection at union level

Goal

To contribute to create enabling environment towards enhancing accountability and responsiveness of local government and extension agencies for ensuring rights of poor and marginalised segments of haor areas in Bangladesh

Purpose

To empower the poor, women- men and marginalized to claim their rights and entitlements, and to benefit from needs responsive, inclusive services from the local governments and extension agencies in 7 unions of Netrakona district

The project is being implemented in 7 unions under 2 Upazillas (Barhatta and Mohangonj) of Netrakona district with the financial support from Manusher Jonno Foundation. The project was started in April 2007 and now is running its 3nd phase with an objective to facilitate an organized voice for rights of the target group people through creating an organizational network as pressure and watch group to local governance and to increase the level of awareness and practice of the poor and disadvantaged women and youth of the project area to reduce the domestic violence and increase knowledge level on local governance and to create an enabling environment amongst the community, Union Parishad and relevant govt. agencies to make them supportive towards women, and make the eligible  people to have access to social and legal services, and different public benefits/ allowances and services as their right.

IED organized 441 women groups covering 9,261members in 7 unions in 2 Upazillas of Netrakona district. There are 7 Community forums with 1 in each union, 2 Upazilla Peoples’ Forums and 63 Ward platforms. These forums/groups are interrelated and maintain close communication among them. They identify different issues based on their lives and place those to the local government representatives for solving the problems and demands. The local government representatives provide supports in those regards. So, it is a demand and supply mechanism.

The community forums (women, community leaders, cultural activist, women leader and youths are the members of the community forum) play role as watch dog and provides all sorts of support for making local government transparent and accountable to the people.

For making local government more transparent and accountable, face to face meetings are organized between people and local government representatives where open discussions are held and question rose. As a result, the people come to share and understand the yearly work plan and budget of UP, Peoples’ participation are increased, culture of sharing are developed, local problems are shared and local government representatives responsibilities are increased.

Four sectoral departments (livestock, agriculture, fisheries and health) and standing committees are activated towards services for the people through continuous communication and inviting related officials and committee members in different forums at ward, union and upazilla levels.

Rights to information acts of our country are being practiced in the way that people are collecting necessary information from related departments or institutions and officials/ representatives disseminating information to the people.

For capacity building of group members, community people and UP Chairman, Members & Secretary are provided training on communication, advocacy, lobbying, gender, rights to information etc.