Bangladesh Bank Governor Dr Atiur Rahman yesterday stressed the need for developing insurance products, particularly health insurance and crop insurance, for the poor and urged all concerned to work together so that poor households can insure themselves against health shocks and crop losses.

“The biggest gap in microfinance is in developing insurance products for the poor, particularly health insurance and crop insurance,” he said while addressing a seminar on ‘Towards a Public Policy on Microfinance in Bangladesh.’

“Let us work together- microfinance regulators, program managers, development partners and the private sector so that poor households can insure themselves against the most common type of shocks - health shocks and crop losses - which often cruelly reverses the steady gains that our hard-working country men and women achieve,” the governor added.

The Daily Sun/Bangladesh/ 6th April 2012