Development Programs in Bangladesh: Hardware versus Software

Development programs in Bangladesh have been affected in the past by unequal emphasis on infrastructure and people‐building. Some programs emphasize the hardware of development, which provides physical facilities that are supposed to make life more comfortable for rural citizens. The hardware must be supplemented by software, which will enable rural inhabitants to make optimum utilization of physical facilities. This important aspect has been neglected in the past, although some programs made halfhearted attempts to provide education and health‐care training to the rural poor. The recent proliferation of non‐governmental organizations (NGOs) in Bangladesh has been beneficial in the sense that the software component of development is receiving more attention, and programs are now being designed with the assumption that the software of development is the most crucial element for success.