Fazle Hasan Abed
Chairpersonm, BRAC
Dhaka, Bangladesh
Advisor for the International Year of Microcredit 2005

"Micro-finance can make the difference between hope and despair for billions of people living in dehumanizing poverty. Over the last two decades understanding and experience of serving poor people with sustainable micro-finance has been gained in many countries. These services needs to be scaled up and integrated with each country's financial system. I hope that the International Year of Micro-Credit will focus global attention on micro-finance as an effective tool for poverty reduction and galvanize support for its expansion and integration throughout the south."

Fazle Hasan Abed is the founder and executive director of the Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee (BRAC), which is devoted to working in the fields of rural development, agriculture, health, education, rural credit, and rural enterprise development programs. He was a member of the World Bank NGO Committee from 1966-91 and a member of the International Commission on Health Research for Development at Harvard University from 1987-90. He has also served on the Task Force on Health Research, WHO Geneva and as a member of the Independent South Asian Poverty Commission. He is currently a member of the Board of Governors, Institute of Development Studies, Sussex University.

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