U.N. pledges $1.8 bln for Bangladesh uplift

DHAKA: The United Nations signed on Wednesday an agreement with Bangladesh for $1.8 billion over the next five years to support the poor nation in addressing development problems.

The agreement, known as the United Nations Development Assistance Framework 2012-2016, aims to help Bangladesh in achieving millennium development goals by focusing on various priority areas, the United Nations said in a statement.

The areas include democratic governance and human rights, pro-poor growth, social services, food security, climate change, the environment, disaster risk reduction, urban development and gender equality.

Separately, the World Bank said it had approved a $359million loan to support Bangladesh's efforts to improve health services, especially for women, children and the poor.

Since 1990, infant and child mortality rates in Bangladesh had declined by more than two-thirds, the World Bank said, adding an "impressive decline" has been achieved in the maternal mortality ratio, from 320 per 100,000 live births in 2001 to 194 in 2010.