Asif Saleh in the list of Time’s top 100 personalities in human service

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Asif Saleh, the executive director of BRAC, has made it to the list of the top 100 personalities in human service of 2026 by the influential “Time” magazine of the United States. The list was published on Time’s website on Thursday. He was nominated to conduct development activities locally.

Asif Saleh’s nomination, the website said, comes after major cuts in foreign aid spending last year, calling for a more advanced model of global aid. BRAC and its executive director Asif Saleh may have a solution.

BRAC, one of the world’s largest non-governmental organizations (NGOs), was established in 1972 in Bangladesh. Earlier it was known as ‘Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee’ (BRAC). The organization initially worked to help refugees in the country. Later the name was shortened to ‘BRAC’ and the activities were broadened. Currently reaching 1.45 million people in Asia and Africa, this organization works on poverty alleviation, education and health.

BRAC is also facing crisis due to reduction in foreign aid allocation. But they have been able to overcome this due to multi-pronged financing strategy. The organization operates through grants, bank interest, crowd-sourced grants and investments, as well as surplus income from microcredit and social enterprises—such as the marketing of handicrafts.

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BRAC’s philosophy on development — ‘Do it anyway’. This hybrid model reflects that philosophy. “We analyze problems and work with people on what they need to change their lives,” said Asif Saleh.

The executive director of BRAC said that their locally managed approach is different from the development model of the (developed) countries of the global north. Programs in developed countries are usually based in cities like Washington DC or London, which are far from where the main problem is.

Asif Saleh said, ‘Development is not a charity. Charity is something that you give to people and people are just there to take it. We encourage just the opposite, where people are active participants in everything we do.’