Dr. Md. Shairul Mashreque and Dr. M Abul Kashem Mozumder :
The incidence of poverty replete the vulnerability is a common phenomenon in Bangladesh. Social assistance must take care about the disadvantaged locus. The programme for social protection must protect the vulnerable poor from ‘the adverse impact of shocks’. Huge resources have been injected in such a program by the government. NGOs are helping the poor out coming in co-operation with the government. ”Such interventions were expected to have positive economic benefits and increase the poor’s incomes substantially, through investment and improved productivity. Despite such efforts to reduce vulnerability of the poor so as cope with household shocks, poverty is not reducing to the desired levels. “
As per Article 15 (d) of the Constitution of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh ‘It shall be a fundamental responsibility of the State to attain a constant increase of productive forces and a steady improvement in the material and cultural standard of living of the people through planned economic growth, with a view to securing its citizens right to social security, that is to say, to public assistance in cases of undeserved want arising from unemployment, illness or disablement, or suffered by widows or orphans or in old age, or in other such cases’. Apart from that ‘National Social Security Strategy (NSSS), Perspective Plan, 7th Five-year Plan, and other policy documents, emphasize providing social protection for old people, small ethnic communities, disabled persons, destitute women and children.’
So many studies have appeared on social protection. The vulnerable do not have social protection dying or near dying in the street , at hospital and at home. We may cite reports from a study group:
Approximately 47 million Bangladeshis live in poverty or around the poverty line. At the same time, Bangladesh has been experiencing economic and demographic changes that could transform it into a middle-income country by 2021.Social protection and labor, or SPL, programs and policies that address these two different, yet related realities have evolved in recent years to meet persistent and new needs. But such efforts require changes that can improve their efficacy and impact.The Government of Bangladesh has allocated significant resources – an average of up to $4 billion annually (or 2 percent of gross domestic product, or GDP) – to implement a large number of social safety net, or SSN, initiatives. SSN includes, among other services, civil service pensions, allowances for vulnerable groups, public works, education and health care.But existing SSN efforts are hampered by fragmentation, poor targeting, inefficiency, and leakage. Allocation of resources across 140 programs under 20 ministries reduces the impact of programs and gives rise to duplication in program objectives and beneficiaries. Poor targeting means only a third of eligible Bangladeshis participated in least one social assistance program in 2010. Of those program participants, almost 60 percent recipients were non-poor. Also, a large share of resources allocated for SSN programs – whether cash or food – do not reach beneficiaries, and programs aimed at children under five years and at the elderly and people with disabilities in many cases are limited.The majority of SSNs address the rural poor. But large and fast-growing numbers of Bangladeshis are moving every year from rural to urban areas, and the country’s social security system must therefore align itself to cater to a growing urban population.The Government of Bangladesh has enacted a National Social Security Strategy in 2015 to create a social protection system that is inclusive, better mitigates lifecycle risks and prioritizes the poorest and most vulnerable. More effective targeting of those truly in need could potentially reduce the poverty rate by 1.5 percentage points, and a shift toward cash-based transfers can improve the efficiency of difficult-to-administer and costly food-security programs. Also, automated administrative systems and electronic payments (via secure cash cards or mobile phones) can promote more transparency and reduce leakage.Further, the government must invest in skills and education for youth and link them to productive employment through domestic job creation and overseas migration, especially in the Middle East and Southeast Asia. The country also needs to do more to protect the elderly in a fiscally sustainable manner. This will require providing the working-age population with incentives and opportunities to save for retirement and insure against risks.
The incidence of poverty replete the vulnerability is a common phenomenon in Bangladesh. Social assistance must take care about the disadvantaged locus. The programme for social protection must protect the vulnerable poor from ‘the adverse impact of shocks’. Huge resources have been injected in such a program by the government. NGOs are helping the poor out coming in co-operation with the government. ”Such interventions were expected to have positive economic benefits and increase the poor’s incomes substantially, through investment and improved productivity. Despite such efforts to reduce vulnerability of the poor so as cope with household shocks, poverty is not reducing to the desired levels. “
As per Article 15 (d) of the Constitution of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh ‘It shall be a fundamental responsibility of the State to attain a constant increase of productive forces and a steady improvement in the material and cultural standard of living of the people through planned economic growth, with a view to securing its citizens right to social security, that is to say, to public assistance in cases of undeserved want arising from unemployment, illness or disablement, or suffered by widows or orphans or in old age, or in other such cases’. Apart from that ‘National Social Security Strategy (NSSS), Perspective Plan, 7th Five-year Plan, and other policy documents, emphasize providing social protection for old people, small ethnic communities, disabled persons, destitute women and children.’
So many studies have appeared on social protection. The vulnerable do not have social protection dying or near dying in the street , at hospital and at home. We may cite reports from a study group:
Approximately 47 million Bangladeshis live in poverty or around the poverty line. At the same time, Bangladesh has been experiencing economic and demographic changes that could transform it into a middle-income country by 2021.Social protection and labor, or SPL, programs and policies that address these two different, yet related realities have evolved in recent years to meet persistent and new needs. But such efforts require changes that can improve their efficacy and impact.The Government of Bangladesh has allocated significant resources – an average of up to $4 billion annually (or 2 percent of gross domestic product, or GDP) – to implement a large number of social safety net, or SSN, initiatives. SSN includes, among other services, civil service pensions, allowances for vulnerable groups, public works, education and health care.But existing SSN efforts are hampered by fragmentation, poor targeting, inefficiency, and leakage. Allocation of resources across 140 programs under 20 ministries reduces the impact of programs and gives rise to duplication in program objectives and beneficiaries. Poor targeting means only a third of eligible Bangladeshis participated in least one social assistance program in 2010. Of those program participants, almost 60 percent recipients were non-poor. Also, a large share of resources allocated for SSN programs – whether cash or food – do not reach beneficiaries, and programs aimed at children under five years and at the elderly and people with disabilities in many cases are limited.The majority of SSNs address the rural poor. But large and fast-growing numbers of Bangladeshis are moving every year from rural to urban areas, and the country’s social security system must therefore align itself to cater to a growing urban population.The Government of Bangladesh has enacted a National Social Security Strategy in 2015 to create a social protection system that is inclusive, better mitigates lifecycle risks and prioritizes the poorest and most vulnerable. More effective targeting of those truly in need could potentially reduce the poverty rate by 1.5 percentage points, and a shift toward cash-based transfers can improve the efficiency of difficult-to-administer and costly food-security programs. Also, automated administrative systems and electronic payments (via secure cash cards or mobile phones) can promote more transparency and reduce leakage.Further, the government must invest in skills and education for youth and link them to productive employment through domestic job creation and overseas migration, especially in the Middle East and Southeast Asia. The country also needs to do more to protect the elderly in a fiscally sustainable manner. This will require providing the working-age population with incentives and opportunities to save for retirement and insure against risks.
(Dr. Md. Shairul Mashreque, Retired Professor, Chittagong University and Dr. M Abul Kashem Mozumder, Pro-VC, BUP)
