The Extreme Poverty Research Group (EPRG) was formed in September 2010 with the objective of developing and disseminating knowledge about the nature of extreme poverty and the effectiveness of measures to address it. Meetings are held quarterly. The first meeting of the EPRG took place in October 2010. The TORs have since been amended and the second meeting of the EPRG took place in January 2011 in which Dr Munir, Director of Hunger and Health at Save the Children UK, took the position of Chair for 2011. Here, findings on defining and targeting the extreme poor were shared, and NGO research ideas (Phase 1) endorsed.
Since then, the EPRG has continued to meet quarterly. On May 10th, the seventh EPRG was held and welcomed a high level of participation from shiree Scale and Innovation-Fund partners, DFID, and other DFID-funded extreme poverty programmes including BRAC and CLP (in total 53 participants) as well as WFP and Nobo Jibon programme. Over 50 participants attended.
Morning Session: EPRG Review, BRAC GQAL field visit and Gender Mainstreaming
The morning began with a review of the EPRG ToR facilitated by Colin Risner (CEO of shiree). This was followed by Sutapa Paul speaking on behalf of shiree on their experiences visiting the BRAC Gender Quality Action Learning programme. There was a presentation and breakout session on “Mainstreaming Gender” that was facilitated by Kira Galbraith and Sally Faulkner. Please refer to Annex 3 of the EPRG minutes for the case studies used in the Gender Mainstreaming breakout session.
BRAC GQAL field visit and Gender Mainstreaming break out session
Impact of Deworming and Micronutrient Supplementation on Maternal and Child Nutritional Status: End-line preliminary findings from a randomized control trial in north-west Bangladesh with NDP – by Hossain Masud, Nutrition Coordinator at shiree
Masud gave a presentation on preliminary findings from a randomized control trial with shiree’s partner NGO- NDP -on the impact of deworming and micronutrient supplementation on maternal and child nutritional status.
Vanessa Rubin (Save the Children) and Nusha Choudhury (World Food Programme) discussed their recent study on the “Cost of Diet” in Bangladesh
Vanessa Rubin and Nusha Choudhury presented on a new programme that calculates the cost of maintaining a nutritional diet by factoring in market prices, food preferences, season, etc. Nusha Choudhury presented a case study of the cost of diet in Gaibandha, Bangladesh, explaining how much it would cost a family of four to maintain a nutritious diet.
Research to Advocacy – by Kira Galbraith, Associate Programmes and Advocacy Manager at shiree
Kira Galbraith facilitated a discussion on how shiree can strengthen the link between research and advocacy. As part of shiree’s advocacy campaign, she asked participants to identify 5 key challenges beneficiaries in their projects face as well as to share what advocacy activities their organizations are currently undertaking. Please refer to Annex 4 of the EPRG minutes for responses.
EPRG 7 May Report (2012)
This document is a collection of the discussions and which took place in the EPRG 7. The concept of the EPRG will continue to be developed, with the next session planned for July.
Contact person: Kira Galbraith, Associate Programmes and Advocacy Manager, kira@shiree.org