newly independent Bangladesh. Hundreds of refugees who had sought shelter in India during the war had started to return home, and their relief and rehabilitation called for urgent efforts. Abed decided to use the funds he had generated from selling his flat to initiate an organisation to deal with the long-term task of improving the living conditions of the rural poor. He selected the remote region of Sulla in northeastern Bangladesh to start his work, and this work led to the non-governmental organisation known as BRAC in 1972. BRAC grew to become one of the largest development organisations in the world in terms of the scale and diversity of its interventions. The organization now operates in all 64 districts of Bangladesh through development interventions that range from education, healthcare, microfinance, skills, human rights, agriculture and enterprise development. In 2002, BRAC went international by taking its range of development interventions to Afghanistan. Since then, BRAC has expanded to a total of 10 countries across Asia and Africa, successfully adapting its unique integrated development model across varying geographic and socioeconomic contexts. It is now considered to be the largest non-profit in the world – both by employees and people served. Professional positions Abed held the following positions: 1972–2001 – Executive Director, BRAC 1981–1982 – Visiting Scholar, Harvard Institute of International Development, Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass. 1982–1986 – Senior Fellow, Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS). 1982–1986 – Member, Board of Trustees, BIDS. 1982–1986 – Chairperson, Association of Development Agencies in Bangladesh (ADAB). 1986–1991 – Member, World Bank NGO Committee, Geneva, Switzerland. 1987–1990 – Chairperson, South Asia Partnership. 1987–1990 – Member, International Commission on Health Research for Development, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA 1990–2009 – Chairperson, 'Campaign for Popular Education' (CAMPE), an NGO network on education. 1992–1993 – Member, Independent South Asian Commission on Poverty Alleviation 1992–2009 – Chairperson, NGO Forum for Drinking Water Supply & Sanitation 1993–2011 – Chairperson, Ain O Salish Kendra (ASK), a human rights organisation 1994–2019 – Member, Board of Trustees, Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), Dhaka 1998–2004 – Member, Board of Governors, Institute of Development Studies (IDS), Sussex University, UK 1998–2005 – Member, Policy Advisory Group, The Consultative Group to Assist the Poorest (CGAP), The World Bank, Washington, DC. 1999–2005 – Member, Board of Governors, International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), Los Banos, Philippines. 2000–2005 – Chair, Finance & Audit Committee, International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), Los Banos, Philippines.