ABSTRACT

The Income Generation for Vulnerable Group Development (IGVGD) programme supplements the government’s Vulnerable Group Development (VGD) programme, which, in turn, emerged out of a government feeding programme, the Vulnerable Group Feeding (VGF) programme, established in 1975. 2 The social context at that time included wide public sympathy for the post-conflict condition of poor and vulnerable women, many thousands of whom had lost traditional sources of male protection during the 1971 war of independence (Kabeer, 2002). Economic crisis led to famine and mass popular disillusionment led to political crisis, culminating in a series of coups and military rule that lasted until 1990. Food aid had been used to protect the urban middle classes, so by targeting the rural poor the VGF programme represented a shift towards more pro-poor food security policy. After further coups and a change in government from 1982, the VGF programme began a reorientation from relief to a focus on development leading the VGD programme (see Attwood et al, 2000). Influences behind this reorientation included that by the 1980s, donors were discouraged by the slow pace of progress on poverty and were pushing for a stronger poverty focus and greater development orientation in food security policies. At the same time, NGOs had demonstrated success with microcredit, linking relief and development and working directly with poor rural women. Donors were also pushing for more space for NGOs. It was in this context that BRAC (Building Resources Across Communities) was approached in 1985 to help orient the VGD programme towards sustainable development.