The overall goal for Swedish development cooperation with Bangladesh, as laid out in the Cooperation Strategy for 2008–2012, is to fulfil the right to education health and a clean and healthy environment for women. men girls and boys living in poverty. Central features of Swedish development cooperation are poor people’s own perspective on their situation, and the rights perspective on development and poverty. The cooperation with Bangladesh has four main objectives:
Adaptation to the effects of climate change is an increasingly important part of Swedish development cooperation, not least in Bangladesh, which is one of the worst affected countries.
Swedish development cooperation with Bangladesh is run primarily through support for the Bangladeshi government's own poverty reduction strategy. The major part of Swedish support goes to the health and education sectors. Within health, there is a focus on especially vulnerable groups, i.e. the poor, women and children, on urban primary health care, and on sexual and reproductive health and rights. Support for education is primarily directed towards primary education, with a focus on access, equity and quality. There are also more narrowly targeted programs, focusing on, e.g., basic education for urban working children.
In addition to the support for government programs, Sweden also provides funding for various non-governmental organizations, working with human rights, women’s rights and good governance.