Economic Empowerment of the Poorest (EEP)

Project Description

The Economic Empowerment of the Poorest Programme (EEP)/SHIREE (Stimulating Household Improvements Resulting in Economic Empowerment) aims to support the Government of Bangladesh (GoB) in achieving the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) 1 of eradicating extreme poverty and hunger by 2015.

SHIREE funds a variety of programmes which together aim to enable over 1 million people to lift themselves out of extreme poverty and achieve sustainable livelihoods by 2015. At the same time, the programme seeks to reduce the vulnerability of the extreme poor to natural disasters, economic shocks, social exclusion and undernutrition. Shiree is also committed to addressing the needs of extremely poor women, children, and the elderly and ethnic minorities and marginalised groups.

In addition to supporting direct interventions, EEP/SHIREE supports high-quality research and disseminates lessons learned and key findings from the programme’s experience with the aim of transforming the way in which extreme poverty is approached by government, donors, NGOs and the public. It seeks to increase the knowledge base on the distinct experiences of extreme poverty in Bangladesh, and to raise awareness of extreme poverty in an international context.

EEP/SHIREE’s specific outputs are:

Output 1 – Scale Fund: Proven approaches to improving the livelihoods of the extreme poor taken to scale.

Output 2 – Innovation Fund: Innovative approaches to improve the livelihoods of the extreme poor tested, evaluated and successes ready for scaling up

Output 3 – Research and Lesson Learning: Increasing consistency in the understanding, sharing and application of approaches to addressing extreme poverty.

Output 4 – Advocacy: Policy and practice at local and national levels shows increasing recognition of the needs of the extreme poor.

Output 5 – Nutrition: Direct nutrition support integrated across Shiree Scale Fund. Innovative approaches to improve protein intake among key groups tested and evaluated.