Finance Minister AMA Muhith yesterday applauded Nobel Laureate Prof Muhammad Yunus and Brae Founder Sir Fazle Hasan Abed for their pioneering efforts aimed at eradicating poverty.

“They are respected personalities in our country. We should respect them as well," he said, while speaking at the launch of modernisation of loan management system at the auditorium of the LGED in the capital's Agargaon.

Muhith said the initiatives of Prof Yunus and Sir Abed started in a very small way but over the years they had transformed those initiatives into institutions.

"I think these two projects exhibited the country's success in poverty eradication."

Muhith said the initiatives of Prof Yunus and Sir Abed had helped people thrive with their hidden talent.

He said the government always aimed at rooting out poverty and take up various initiatives. "Since 1972, poverty alleviation has been the government's priority. It remains a priority today."

In 1972, some 70 percent people used to live in poverty, compelling the governments to work for poverty eradication. The rate has now come down to 22 percent, said Muhith.

"The success in poverty eradication is down to people's initiatives, spirit and courage. The governments created a congenial environment so individual initiatives can thrive."

Muhith said the governments had enabled people to utilise their capacity. "Grameen Bank has also played this role successfully in our country. Grameen Bank was established with a notion that even the extreme poor have rights to credits, and if they get loans they can change their fortunes."

Not only Grameen Bank, organisations such as Brae also came up with similar ideas for the poor, he said.

The minister, however, said 3.40 crore people were still poor in Bangladesh, with half of them living in extreme poverty. “So, the problem is acute and we have to continue with our efforts."

The minister said the government aimed at eradicating poverty from the country by 2024.

Muhith also said Grameen Bank had to change the way of providing loans. The weekly instalment system has to change, he said.

Md Eunusur Rahman, bank and financial institutions division secretary, and Qimiao Fan, country director of the World Bank, also spoke at the ceremony.