Problems of the NGOs in housing the urban poor in Bangladesh

Many non-government organisations (NGOs) are involved in the socio-economic and environmental development programmes in Bangladesh, supplementing the governmentʹs effort in these areas. The majority of their target groups, the urban poor, lack proper housing. Though an improved housing situation would have positive effects on other programmes as in income generation and health, the NGOs have not been widely involved in urban housing. Their involvement in the housing programmes was recommended in the recent policy papers, as the government realises the absurdity of solving the enormous housing problem on its own. This paper is based on the authorʹs research on the Bangladeshi NGOs titled ‘Role of the NGOs in Urban Housing for the Poor in Bangladesh’, funded by The World Bankʹs Economic Development Institute under the Robert McNamara Fellowship Program, 1998. It discusses the possible forms of involvement by the NGOs in housing for the urban poor in Bangladesh, and the obstacles and limitations of such an involvement.