Inaugural Clinton Global Citizen Awards
Fazle Abed
 Founder and Chairperson, BRAC When 10 million refugees were returning to the newlyindependent Bangladesh
35 years ago, Fazle Hasan Abed could not sit idly by in his comfortable executive position in London. Returning home,
he used the funds from selling his flat to respond to the crisis. The relief organization he created, the Bangladesh Rural
Advancement Committee (BRAC), has become a development engine whose methods have lifted over 35 million people out of abject
poverty, educated over 3 million children, and improved the health of over 100 million. BRAC’s micro-enterprise,
health, education and other initiatives have been expanded to 70,000 villages in Bangladesh, 25 of 34 districts in Afghanistan,
the seven worst tsunami-hit districts in Sri Lanka, and three countries in Africa. Technical assistance is now also provided
in Pakistan, Haiti, and India as well. In addition, BRAC is exceptionally sustainable, generating 70% of its annual budget
from its own microfinance and business ventures. With an educational background in finance and accounting, Abed applied his
knowledge of management techniques and accountability mechanisms to the task of rebuilding his country from the grassroots.
BRAC has also organized over 6 million women in Bangladesh into village associations through which they receive micro-finance
and other services. Abed firmly believes that poverty must be tackled from a holistic viewpoint, transitioning individuals
from being aid recipients to becoming empowered citizens in control of their own destinies. For more information, please
visit: Brac.net |
