BRAC

BRAC is an international development organisation founded in Bangladesh in 1972 by Fazle Hasan Abed, shortly after the country’s independence. It began as a relief and rehabilitation initiative in the rural area of Shallah, helping communities and returning refugees affected by the 1971 Liberation War. Over time, the organisation developed a broad model of community-based development that combined education, public health, microfinance, livelihoods, women’s empowerment, disaster response and social enterprise. The organisation was initially known as the Bangladesh Rehabilitation Assistance Committee and later as the Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee. It subsequently adopted the name Building Resources Across Communities, while retaining the short name BRAC. To receive foreign donations, it was registered with Bangladesh’s NGO Affairs Bureau. BRAC expanded from village-level projects into a large, integrated development system operating throughout Bangladesh and internationally across Asia, Africa and the Caribbean. The organisation states that it reaches more than 126 million people and employs more than 90,000 people, approximately 70 percent of whom are women; these figures are organisation-reported and may vary by reporting period. BRAC’s work is notable for linking programmes rather than treating poverty as a single-sector problem. Its microfinance activities provide mostly collateral-free loans and savings services, particularly to poor and landless rural women. Its education programme offers non-formal primary schooling for children excluded from formal institutions, including rural children, dropouts and disadvantaged girls. BRAC also operates BRAC University in Dhaka. In public health, the organisation has delivered community-based healthcare and health education, including a major oral rehydration campaign that taught households how to prepare and use oral rehydration solution for childhood diarrhoea. The organisation has also created enterprises intended to support both livelihoods and financial sustainability. Aarong, established in 1978, markets handicrafts, textiles, jewellery, leather goods and other products made by rural artisans. Other activities have included agricultural inputs, dairy, cold storage and related commercial ventures. This approach allows BRAC to combine donor funding with earned income, although its labour practices, artisan compensation and the wider effects of microcredit have also attracted criticism and debate. Important programmes include the Rural Development Programme, launched in 1979; the Non-Formal Primary Education Programme, launched in 1985; women’s health initiatives beginning in 1991; and the Challenging the Frontiers of Poverty Reduction—Targeting the Ultra Poor programme, introduced in 2002 for households too poor to benefit from conventional microfinance. BRAC has also responded to disasters such as Cyclone Sidr in Bangladesh and has partnered with international organisations on girls’ empowerment and other development initiatives. BRAC is widely regarded as one of the world’s largest nongovernmental development organisations by reach and staffing. Its identity is associated with practical, scalable interventions, local field networks, evidence-based programme evaluation and an effort to move vulnerable households toward greater economic and social agency. Its present scope includes development programmes, research, education, health, financial inclusion, humanitarian response and social enterprises, with Bangladesh remaining its principal operating base.

BRAC was created in 1972 by Fazle Hasan Abed as a relief and rehabilitation project in rural Bangladesh. Its initial purpose was to help returning refugees and communities rebuilding after the Liberation War. During the 1970s, the organisation experimented with village development activities covering agriculture, fisheries, cooperatives, literacy, health, family planning, vocational training for women and community facilities. It also established a research and evaluation function to measure results and guide programme design. In 1977, BRAC introduced Village Organisations aimed at landless people, small farmers, artisans and vulnerable women. The same year it created a commercial printing press as an income-generating activity. In 1978 it established Aarong, a handicraft retail organisation that connected rural producers with urban and later international markets. Microfinance was introduced in 1974 and became one of BRAC’s central instruments for supporting income generation among poor households. A major turning point came with its response to diarrhoeal disease. After a field trial beginning in 1979, BRAC expanded the Oral Therapy Extension Programme in 1980. Community workers taught mothers how to make oral rehydration solution using ingredients available at home. The programme eventually reached approximately 12 million households in most parts of Bangladesh and helped make oral rehydration a routine treatment for childhood diarrhoea in rural communities. BRAC’s Rural Development Programme began in 1979 and combined group organisation with savings, credit and development services. Membership grew substantially during the 1980s and 1990s. Evaluations reported improvements in several household economic indicators, while also identifying limitations involving member retention and the difficulty of achieving all intended village self-management goals. Education became another defining area. BRAC developed non-formal primary education for children who were poorly served by conventional schools, especially those in poor rural communities and girls at risk of exclusion. The programme formalised its school model in 1985 with small, single-room schools, flexible schedules and a practical curriculum. BRAC later expanded its educational work into secondary and tertiary activities and established BRAC University in Dhaka in 2001. The organisation broadened its health work through community-based services, health education and women’s health programmes. It also developed targeted anti-poverty interventions. In 2002, the Challenging the Frontiers of Poverty Reduction—Targeting the Ultra Poor programme was introduced for households whose extreme deprivation left them unable to participate effectively in ordinary microfinance. The model combined asset transfers, training, consumption support and links to mainstream development services. BRAC expanded internationally across Asia, Africa and the Caribbean, while maintaining Bangladesh as its largest operational base. It has worked in countries including Afghanistan, Pakistan, Nepal, Myanmar, the Philippines, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, South Sudan, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Haiti. Its international model has included direct programmes, technical assistance and partnerships. BRAC has also responded to major emergencies, including Cyclone Sidr in Bangladesh in 2007, moving from immediate relief toward reconstruction and livelihood recovery. The organisation’s financing model combines grants, programme funding, microfinance income and social enterprises such as Aarong, agriculture-related businesses, dairy and cold-storage activities. This hybrid structure has been presented as a way to increase institutional resilience and reduce dependence on donors. At the same time, scholars and commentators have debated whether microcredit can create unintended pressures for women borrowers and whether some social-enterprise supply chains provide adequate compensation to rural producers. BRAC remains a major international development organisation with programmes spanning economic inclusion, education, health, humanitarian response, research and social enterprise. Its historical significance lies in its attempt to test, evaluate and scale locally delivered interventions across multiple dimensions of poverty rather than relying on a single service model.

• 2019

  Named leading NGO by NGO Advisor

  [1]BRAC (organisation)en.wikipedia.org

  BRAC receives the top position in NGO Advisor’s 2019 ranking of nongovernmental organisations.

• 2007

  Independence Award and Cyclone Sidr response

  [1]BRAC (organisation)en.wikipedia.org

  BRAC receives Bangladesh’s Independence Award and responds to Cyclone Sidr with relief and longer-term rehabilitation.

• 2002

  Targeting the Ultra Poor programme begins

  [1]BRAC (organisation)en.wikipedia.org

  BRAC introduces a specialised programme for households too deprived to benefit from conventional development finance.

• 2001

  BRAC University is established

  [1]BRAC (organisation)en.wikipedia.org

  BRAC establishes BRAC University in Dhaka as an English-medium higher-education institution.

• 1991

  Women’s Health Development Programme begins

  [1]BRAC (organisation)en.wikipedia.org

  BRAC expands its health portfolio with a programme focused on women’s health.

• 1985

  Non-Formal Primary Education launches

  [1]BRAC (organisation)en.wikipedia.org

  BRAC establishes a flexible primary-school model for children excluded from the formal education system.

• 1980

  Oral Therapy Extension Programme expands

  [1]BRAC (organisation)en.wikipedia.org

  BRAC scales household education on oral rehydration solution across Bangladesh.

• 1979

  Rural Development Programme begins

  [1]BRAC (organisation)en.wikipedia.org

  BRAC launches a programme combining village organisation with savings, credit and development support.

• 1978

  Aarong is established

  [1]BRAC (organisation)en.wikipedia.org

  The handicraft retail enterprise Aarong is launched to connect rural artisans with consumers and generate income for BRAC activities.

• 1977

  Village Organisations and income generation

  [1]BRAC (organisation)en.wikipedia.org

  BRAC forms Village Organisations for disadvantaged rural groups and establishes a commercial printing press.

• 1974

  Microfinance begins

  [1]BRAC (organisation)en.wikipedia.org

  BRAC introduces microfinance as part of its effort to support poor households and income-generating activity.

• 1972

  BRAC is founded

  [1]BRAC (organisation)en.wikipedia.org

  Fazle Hasan Abed starts BRAC as a relief and rehabilitation project for communities affected by the Bangladesh Liberation War.

A large-scale, integrated development organisation focused on practical poverty reduction, inclusive finance, education, health and community-led economic opportunity.

• Financial inclusion · 1974

  BRAC Microfinance

  BRAC’s microfinance activities provide savings and primarily collateral-free loans to low-income clients, especially poor and landless rural women. The programme is intended to support small businesses, agriculture, household resilience and income generation. It is delivered through local field networks and has historically been integrated with broader social-development services rather than operated solely as a commercial lending product.

• Education · 1985

  BRAC Non-Formal Primary Education

  BRAC’s non-formal schools serve children who are underserved by conventional education, including poor rural children, school dropouts and girls. The typical model uses a small classroom, one teacher, flexible hours and a focused curriculum. The programme is designed to reduce barriers to attendance while providing foundational learning in subjects such as mathematics, English and social studies.

• Handicraft retail and social enterprise · 1978

  Aarong

  Aarong is BRAC’s major handicraft and lifestyle retail enterprise. It markets products made by rural and indigenous artisans, including handloom textiles, clothing, jewellery, leather goods and other crafts. The business provides market access to producers while contributing surplus and institutional support to BRAC’s wider development activities. Its role illustrates BRAC’s effort to combine livelihood creation with earned-income generation.

• Poverty reduction · 2002

  Targeting the Ultra Poor

  The Targeting the Ultra Poor programme focuses on households living in extreme poverty and unable to use ordinary microfinance effectively. Support may combine asset transfers, consumption assistance, training, savings encouragement and links to mainstream services. The approach is intended to help participants build livelihoods before entering or using conventional financial-inclusion programmes.

• Higher education · 2001

  BRAC University

  BRAC University is a Dhaka-based university founded by BRAC. It offers higher education with English as the primary instructional language and operates with approval from Bangladesh’s education authorities. It extends BRAC’s education portfolio from non-formal primary schooling into tertiary education and research.

• 2007Cyclone Sidr relief and rehabilitation

  Bangladesh

  BRAC provided clothing, food, safe water and medical assistance after Cyclone Sidr struck Bangladesh’s southwestern coast, then shifted toward agricultural support, infrastructure rebuilding and livelihood recovery.

  Outcome. The response combined emergency assistance with longer-term rehabilitation.

  Source
• 1979Oral Therapy Extension Programme

  Bangladesh

  BRAC trained rural mothers to prepare and use oral rehydration solution from household ingredients to treat diarrhoeal illness. The campaign used direct household instruction supported by mass communication and was later expanded across most of Bangladesh.

  Outcome. The programme reached approximately 12 million households, and later assessments reported very high continued use of oral rehydration practices among rural mothers.

  Source
• Girl Effect partnership

  Uganda · Tanzania

  BRAC partnered with the Nike Foundation’s Girl Effect initiative on a programme intended to reach adolescent girls in Uganda and Tanzania.

  Source

• 2002

  Target households beyond conventional microfinanceStrategy

  Background

  The poorest households were often unable to take advantage of ordinary microcredit because of extreme food insecurity, limited assets and unstable livelihoods.

  Action taken

  BRAC launched the Challenging the Frontiers of Poverty Reduction—Targeting the Ultra Poor programme, combining livelihood assistance with links to mainstream development services.

  Aftermath

  The programme became a prominent example of a graduation-oriented approach to extreme poverty reduction.

  Source

• 1985

  Scale non-formal primary educationStrategy

  Background

  Many poor, rural and disadvantaged children were not being served effectively by the formal school system.

  Action taken

  BRAC created a flexible, small-school model with local teachers, limited class sizes and schedules suited to community conditions.

  Aftermath

  The education programme became one of BRAC’s largest activities and contributed to the expansion of non-formal schooling in Bangladesh and other countries.

  Source

• 1978

  Create a self-financing handicraft enterpriseStrategy

  Background

  BRAC sought ways to connect poor producers to markets and diversify the resources supporting its development work.

  Action taken

  It established Aarong as a retail and handicraft enterprise serving rural artisans and BRAC’s wider social mission.

  Aftermath

  Aarong became a major BRAC social enterprise, although producer compensation and labour conditions have been subjects of public criticism and debate.

  Source

• 2019

  BRAC receives international recognition as a leading NGO[1]BRAC (organisation)en.wikipedia.org

  Other

  NGO Advisor ranked BRAC as the world’s leading nongovernmental organisation in its 2019 listing, following earlier top rankings.

• 1979

  BRAC launches nationwide oral rehydration campaign[1]BRAC (organisation)en.wikipedia.org

  Campaign · Other

  BRAC began field-testing a household campaign that taught rural mothers to prepare and use oral rehydration solution for diarrhoeal disease.

• 1978

  BRAC establishes Aarong social enterprise[1]BRAC (organisation)en.wikipedia.org

  Other

  Aarong was created to market products made by rural and indigenous artisans while contributing to BRAC’s financial sustainability.

• 1972

  BRAC founded as a post-war rehabilitation initiative[1]BRAC (organisation)en.wikipedia.org

  Other

  Fazle Hasan Abed established BRAC to support relief and rehabilitation in communities affected by the Bangladesh Liberation War.

1. 1BRAC (organisation)en.wikipedia.org
2. 2BRAC official websitebrac.net