Development Cooperation with Bangladesh

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:

• Increased access to and improved quality of primary education for children living in poverty, with a particular focus on girls.
• Improved access to efficient and non-discriminatory health care for people living in poverty, with a particular focus on maternal care.
• Strengthened rights for women and improved democratic governance through greater opportunities for women and men living in poverty to assess and demand quality and non-discriminatory public service delivery.
• Improved urban environment for the benefit of people living in poverty.

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.

Non-earmarked pooled funding to the Sector Wide Programmes in Education and Health constitute a large portion, some 80%, of the total cooperation programme. Another important element is projects that in various ways seek to contribute to the promotion of  democracy, economic development and respect for human rights. Climate change is an area that will be addressed and come to the fore in the new Cooperation Strategy under preparation. In monetary terms Swedish development assistance is currently in the order of some 40 million USD per year.

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. 

Read about Swedish sectorwise contributions to the right.