UNB :
Cabinet Secretary Khandker Anwarul Islam has urged the development partners to join hands with the government to adopt an innovative policy in order to provide the poor and vulnerable with the instruments for sustainable growth.
He reminded the audience that social safety nets have played a vital role in containing the socio-economic effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The cabinet secretary said it while addressing as the chief guest at a workshop titled “Lifecycle Based Social Protection Systems in Bangladesh” on Sunday, reports UNB citing a press release.
It was organised under the leadership of the Cabinet Division and with the technical support of the European Union (EU) Technical Assistance to Support Social Security in Bangladesh (TA SSSR).
Around 100 government officials from Cabinet Division and other social protection focal ministries attended the event held at a city hotel.
The European Union funded the workshop under the framework of its budget support programme in the social protection sector, which aims to support the Government of Bangladesh (GoB) to accelerate social security reforms, in line with the spirit of the 2015 National Social Security Strategy (NSSS).
This budget support operation amounts to EUR 247 million, as direct tranches to the government, and EUR 6.5 million for technical assistance, to support the Cabinet Division and other ministries to better deliver services and increase the number of citizens reached through social security plans and programmes.
Md. Rahat Anwar, additional secretary, Coordination Wing, Cabinet Division and Md Shamsul Arefin, secretary, Coordination and Reforms, Cabinet Division participated in the event as special guests.
The technical session, led by Kavim V Bhatnagar, TA SSSR, reviewed the NSSS focus to consolidate social security programmes within a lifecycle framework.
In a typical life cycle, ranging from early pregnancy to old age, individuals face different risks and vulnerabilities at different stages.
The need for policies to support individuals at each stage of their life, and for social protection strategies to mitigate risks at each stage, said the EU Embassy in Dhaka.
It also highlighted the needs for the GoB to address the most important gaps in lifecycle coverage, for the early childhood and the working-age populations.
Moreover, the technical presentation explored the possibilities of providing social insurance (unemployment, injury, sickness and maternity) and contributory pension, as envisaged under the National Social Insurance Scheme (NSIS), embedded in the NSSS.
With rapidly ageing population of the elderly, the NSSS acknowledges the need to develop a comprehensive pension system that provides a state-guaranteed minimum income for senior citizens belonging to the poor and vulnerable group, while building a contributory pension system for those working age families who want to provide for themselves a higher level of pension income in old age.
Syed Saad Hussain Gilani, chief technical advisor, ILO and Syed Moazzem Hussain, senior technical advisor, GIZ presented their recent projects to pilot an employment injury scheme in the formal sector, showing how the NSIS spirit is translated into reality.
