Impact Evaluation of Maternity Allowance Programme in Bangladesh: A Study of Two Upazilas Md. Rahman Mahmudur1,**, Datta Bishwajit2,* 1Assistant Professor, Department of Public Administration, Jahangirnagar University, Savar, Dhaka – 1342, Bangladesh 2Former Student, Master of Public Administration (MPA), Jahangirnagar University, Savar, Dhaka – 1342, Bangladesh Corresponding author email id: *bjdatta@yahoo.com
**mahmud509@yahoo.com
Abstract This paper has examined the impact of maternity allowance programme (MAP) on the beneficiaries of two Upazilas of Bangladesh. The research has been carried out based on a field survey of total 140 respondents in two Upazilas of Bangladesh: Palash Upazila in Narsingdi and Savar Upazila in Dhaka. The main purpose of the study is to assess the impact of the programme on the beneficiaries in reducing the rate of death of poor mothers and children, promoting nutritional status, promoting dignity and empowerment of mothers, creating social awareness among the mothers and encouraging in birth and marriage registration. The study has revealed that the programme has positive impact on the health, social and economic issues of beneficiary mothers. The study has found that there is no single case happened in the studied areas that any poor mother included in this programme died due to malnutrition, lack of antenatal and postnatal services, or any other unusual cause. The study has also found that 75% of the beneficiary respondents are agree that they became somehow able to take nutritious food in ante and post-natal period, 83.33% of them admitted their social status has increased, while 65% of them agree that they can take economic decisions in their family. Various limitations such as lack of training facilities provided by the participating NGOs, extra payment by the beneficiaries, inadequate coverage or limited number of beneficiaries, inadequate rate of monthly allowance, lack of strict adherence to selection criteria have been found as major problems associated with the programme. At the end, some recommendations have been made through the implementation of which the programme can reach at the highest peak of its success. Top Keywords Impact, Maternity, Upazila, Programme, Women, Development, Bangladesh. Top |