Challenging the Frontiers of Poverty Reduction: Targeting the Ultra Poor (CFPR-TUP) project was initiated by BRAC (NGO), a Bangladesh-based development organization, after years of trial and error, in 2002. The ultra poor are a group of people who eat below 80% of their energy requirements despite spending at least 80% of income on food. In Bangladesh, they constitute the poorest 17.5 percent of the population. BRAC applied this program, also known as the graduation approach, for two years and study released in 2010 reported that more than 95% of participants left the rigorously defined category of ultra-poverty over the 24 months – and more importantly, they had stayed out of it four years later. Follow-ups recorded similar results. A randomized control trial released in 2013 showed dramatic and sustained shifts in value of livestock, self-employment, earnings and self-reported happiness - long after the period of support had ended. Since its inception, the program covered 1.6 million ultra poor households in 44 districts in Bangladesh. Outside Bangladesh, Consultative Group for Assisting Poor (CGAP), a World Bank organization, and the Ford Foundation have studied Targeting the Ultra Poor (TUP) program, adapted in eight countries in Latin America, Africa, the Middle East and elsewhere in Asia, explicitly modeled on BRAC’s. After 1.5 to 3 years, 75% to 98% of participants meet “graduation” criteria. This shows the success of the graduation program even outside of Bangladesh. Nicholas Kristof mentioned in a New York Times column that this model is the mechanism of hope that helps people make headway out of poverty. BRAC is ready to open-source their approach, both to help other countries achieve similar results and also to refine their own methodology. The TUP program or the graduation approach starts with the allocation of an asset such as cattle or poultry, as well as training on how to raise them. It also includes food or cash support alongside, partly to reduce the need to eat or sell the asset in a financial crisis. There’s a savings account, health education and regular coaching to reinforce skills and build confidence.
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Participatory Wealth Ranking
The first step is targeting or finding the people who needs help the most. This is done through what BRAC calls “participatory wealth ranking” – gathering about 40 to 50 people in the village or community to determine the poorest. Program staff follow up with in-person visits to potential participants, using a set of standard criteria – number of meals a day, whether their roof is thatched or tin, and so on – to determine who qualifies. Senior managers then verify the selection. It’s a mix of bottom-up participatory involvement and top-down supervision, intended to ensure that no ultra-poor are left out, and funds are not wasted on those who could benefit from a less costly intervention.
Asset grants, training and follow-ups
The next step is transfer of assets such as a goat, chickens or a cow, a cash and food stipend to give the beneficiary breathing room while learning a new trade or access a savings account. Training in basic literacy and numeracy like writing their names and basic preventative and curative healthcare takes place alongside. Others in the community, including village elites, are brought into the process. Coaching or “hand-holding”, in the form of weekly visits from program staff to overcome challenges, is essential in the approach.
Graduation
Continuing to save after the end of the program can help beneficiaries/participants protect assets and accumulate money for future investments or emergencies. A shared goal across the pilots was that by the end of the program, members had access to a wide range of financial services. The Graduation Approach is not a short-term escape from extreme poverty but instead seeks to equip participants with the tools, livelihoods, and self-confidence to sustain themselves when the program is over.