Dhaka: Brac founder and the chair emeritus Sir Fazle Hasan Abed,KCMG, has passed away at a city hospital at the age of 83, according to media report.
He breathed his last at around 8:28 pm on Friday while undergoing treatment at Apollo Hospitals in the captal, Brac Chairman Dr Hossain Zillur Rahman confirrmed the news to media.
Fazle Hasan Abed contributed a lot to the advancement of education, health and micro-credit sectors in Bangladesh through his organisation Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee (BRAC) that was founded in 1972.
It eventually grew into the world’s largest indigenous NGO and a global brand in the development community.
Later, BRAC University was founded in Dhaka. The university scored better position in the global ranking.
Sir Fazle Abed retired as the chairperson of Brac Bangladesh and Brac International in August 2019 and became the chair emeritus of the world’s largest non-governmental organisation.
On November 20, he was honoured with the Officer in the Order of Orange-Nassau for his successful work in alleviating poverty, especially of women and children.
Shortly after his retirement as BRAC chairman, Abed was admitted to the hospital on November 28 after he fell sick.
Sir Fazle Abed is the lone Bangladeshi to be honoured with a knighthood by the British Crown. He was knighted in 2010.
He has been honoured with numerous national and international awards, including the Outstanding Member of the South Asian Diaspora Award this month.
Some other awards include World Food Prize (2015), Spanish Order of Civil Merit (2014), Leo Tolstoy International Gold Medal (2014), WISE Prize for Education (2011).
