UNDP Award giving ceremony today

"Fazle Hasan Abed is being recognised for his extraordinary achievements in helping the rural poor to combat hunger, disease and illiteracy on a massive scale," the UNDP said in a statement yesterday.

The award giving ceremony will be held in New York today. The 2004 UNDP Awards for Human Development reports will also be presented at the ceremony.

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Argentina, Colombia, Latvia, West Bengal, Zambia and the Roma people of Eastern Europe are among those being honoured by the UNDP in recognition of their excellence in the field of human development.

Brac is a non-governmental organisation working in every district in Bangladesh with people whose lives are dominated by extreme poverty, discrimination and exploitation. More than US$ 2 billion in BRAC micro-loans have been distributed with no collateral, with a 98 per cent repayment rate, said the UNDP release.

To link rural producers with expanding urban marks, Brac operates commercial ventures, including the second largest dairy in the country. Its programmes in health and nutrition have reached 31 million, many in the most remote and marginal areas. This work has made a significant contribution to Bangladesh's achievement of the fastest decline in infant mortality rates in Asia.