ERD to publish national human development report

The government is planning to restart publication of National Human Development Report (NHDR) to facilitate policy dialogue and better understanding of development dynamics, says a press release.

The NHDR was published in 1992 for the first time by the government but it did not continue later.

The Economic Relations Division (ERD) will publish the report with the support of United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

The decision was taken at a meeting organised by the ERD at the meeting room of Executive Committee of National Economic Council (ECNEC) on Sunday.

A total of 40 representatives of different ministries and private sector research organisations took part in the consultation meeting.

Speaking at the meeting, Selim Jahan, director of UNDP Human Development Report Office in New York, said that the increase of GDP growth and infrastructural development alone cannot guarantee the human development.

“Focus should be the improvement of living standard of the people,” he added.

Discussants suggested forming an advisory council to guide the authors’ panel in choosing the themes and contents of the report.

Chaired by ERD secretary Kazi Shofiqul Azam, the meeting was addressed by member of general economic division’s member Shamsul Alam, UNDP’s country director Sudipto Mukerjee, CPD’s research director Khondaker Golam Moazzem, and senior research fellow of Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS) Nazneen Ahmed.