More than three-fourths of the extremely poor households targeted under a four-year project of Palli Karma-Sahayak Foundation (PKSF) have moved above the extreme poverty threshold, while child stunting among participating families has declined by more than half, according to project findings.

The Pathways to Prosperity for Extremely Poor People–European Union (PPEPP-EU) project has brought sustainable changes to the incomes, assets, nutrition, financial inclusion and resilience of 215,000 extremely poor families living in climate-vulnerable and hard-to-reach areas, speakers said at the project's closing ceremony on Tuesday.

The project, funded by the European Union, ran from October 2022 to September 2026.

A presentation at the event said integrated services were provided to around 860,000 people from 215,000 extremely poor households through 19 Partner Organizations across 145 unions in 34 upazilas of 12 districts.

The proportion of extremely poor households among project participants fell from 62.7 percent to around 22 percent.

The prevalence of stunting among children under five declined from 48 percent to 22.8 percent, while wasting fell from 17 percent to 12.4 percent. The stunting rate among the project participants is now below the national average, according to the presentation.

In addition to a EUR 22.81 million grant from the European Union, approximately Tk 3,217 crore in affordable loans was disbursed among project households through PKSF and its Partner Organizations.

PKSF Managing Director Md Fazlul Kader said more than three-fourths of the extremely poor households targeted by the project had moved above the extreme poverty threshold, with a significant proportion becoming microentrepreneurs.

“We have seen that providing assistance to extremely poor people may address their problems temporarily. But when we build their capabilities and create opportunities for them, they can transform their lives. Thousands of families under this project have demonstrated precisely that,” he said.

Financial Institutions Division Secretary Nazma Mobarek, whose speech as the chief guest was read out at the event, said extreme poverty is a multidimensional reality and is not merely a matter of insufficient income or assets.

“An important lesson from PPEPP-EU is that the ultimate goal of poverty reduction is not dependence on assistance, but capability and self-reliance,” she said.

“When financial support, skills, market linkages, health and nutrition, social protection, and climate resilience are addressed in an integrated manner, even an extremely poor person can gradually become a producer, entrepreneur, and active participant in the economy,” she added.

European Union Delegation to Bangladesh Head of Development Cooperation Michal Krejza highlighted the EU's contribution to the project and stressed the importance of sustaining its achievements.

“A project should not end when the project funding ends. The ultimate measure of success will be whether the gains achieved by these households can be sustained — whether their businesses and livelihoods continue to grow, whether their assets continue to increase, whether their children remain better nourished,” he said.

He welcomed PKSF's commitment to mainstreaming PPEPP participants into its regular credit programmes and the continued engagement of its Partner Organizations.

PKSF Chairman Zakir Ahmed Khan said the project's greatest achievement lay not only in its specific outcomes but also in creating opportunities for extremely poor people to strengthen their capabilities and confidence and move forward on their own path to development.

He said there had been considerable doubts about whether members of the extremely poor population could become eligible for and effectively use credit.

The project has demonstrated that, with appropriate support, extremely poor people can develop the capacity to access credit, which can contribute to sustainable poverty reduction in the long term, he added.

Although the project has formally concluded, its members will continue to have access to mainstream financial services through PKSF's regular programmes and those of its Partner Organizations, he said.

The experiences and lessons generated by the project will also inform the design of PKSF's future programmes, he added.

The closing ceremony was held at PKSF Bhaban in Agargaon with PKSF Chairman Zakir Ahmed Khan in the chair.

Around 400 people, including representatives of PKSF, the European Union, various ministries and government departments, PKSF's Partner Organizations and other stakeholders, attended the event.

PKSF General Manager and PPEPP-EU Project Director Salina Sharif presented an overview of the project, while PKSF Managing Director Md Fazlul Kader delivered the welcome address.