A delegation led by Mr. Fazle Hasan Abed, the Founder and Chairperson of BRAC Foundation, a development NGO working to fight poverty in the dimensions of economic development, health, education and legal empowerment in Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Uganda, and Tanzania called on the former Tanzanian President Benjamin Mkapa today, August 7, 2006 at 11 in the morning at his office in Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania. Mr. Abed appraised the former president on the current activities and future plans of BRAC Foundation in Tanzania which has started its operations here since February of this year. It has already set up 10 microfinance branch offices in the regions of Dar-es-Salaam, Coast and Arusha aiming to reach 10,000 poor women by the end of this year. BRAC Foundation over the next few years plans to significantly scale up microfinance access for the poor in Tanzania reaching over a million of poor households all over the country. In addition to this, BRAC Foundation will also develop programmes to control malaria, TB, HIV/AIDS and support agricultural activities of the poor.

Mr. Mkapa welcomed the activities of BRAC Foundation in Tanzania and saw it as having significant potential to defeat poverty in Tanzania. He assured Mr. Abed of his full support and commitment to help BRAC Foundation’s development work in Tanzania. They discussed the lack of progress of Tanzania towards attaining the Millennium Development Goals despite good overall economic performance of the economy. They both agreed that this is unacceptable and can be corrected but needs urgent and bold actions. Mr. Abed urged on Mr. Mkapa to champion and spearhead a campaign to attain the MDGs for Tanzania in which BRAC Foundation is committed to act as an ally.

Mr. Abed invited Mr. Mkapa to visit Bangladesh in early December to see BRAC’s development work in Bangladesh and attend an international conference organized by BRAC on extreme poverty. The BRAC Foundation delegation included Mr. Aminul Alam, the Executive Director of BRAC Foundation’s Tanzania Chapter, Dr. Imran Matin, the Director of BRAC’s Research and Evaluation Division, Mr. Shamsher Ali Khan, Programme Coordinator, BRAC Foundation, East Africa, and Mr.Hossain Ishrath Adib, Microfinance Manager, BRAC Foundation, East Africa.

© 2005 BRAC Bangladesh
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