As Bangladesh navigates a period of significant socio-economic and political transformation, experts are advocating for a comprehensive redesign of the nation’s social protection framework. This restructuring, they contend, is crucial to bolstering the living standards of vulnerable and at-risk populations and should commence with the upcoming Fiscal Year 2025-26 national budget. These insights emerged during a pre-budget dialogue titled “National Budget for Social Protection,” organized by Unnayan Shamannay, held today at their Khondaker Ibrahim Khaled Conference Room in Dhaka.
The dialogue featured a panel of distinguished expert discussants, including Dr. Md. Abdul Majid Pramanik, Joint Director of the Rural Development Academy; Dr. Farhana Zaman, Professor, Department of Sociology, Jagannath University; Dr. Ishrat Shamim, Founding President, Center for Women and Children Studies; and Dr. Mahfuz Kabir, Research Director, BIISS.
Abdullah Nadvi, Research Director at Unnayan Shamannay, presented the foundational context, acknowledging Bangladesh’s commendable history of social protection programs. However, he highlighted that these initiatives have predominantly focused on rural, agriculture-dependent families. Given the evolving economic landscape, Nadvi underscored the imperative for dedicated policy attention to social protection for both formal and informal sector workers in urban areas. He cited the striking disparity in the garment industry, where only 20,000 of its 4 million workers currently receive direct social protection benefits.
Dr. Abdul Majid Pramanik emphasized the critical need for budgetary allocation to address the unique vulnerabilities of citizens impacted by climate change. He advocated for long-term social protection strategies to mitigate climate challenges and stressed the urgency of introducing specific programs for the nearly 10 million citizens residing in the country’s char (riverine island) regions. Dr. Pramanik suggested that successful pilot programs for char dwellers, currently implemented by government and non-government entities, could be scaled up nationally. Dr. Ishrat Shamim further underscored the importance of a specialized policy focus on improving the living standards of urban women and children, with corresponding reflections in social protection budget allocations.
Dr. Mahfuz Kabir, economist and Research Director at BIISS, emphasized that alongside increased social protection allocations, rigorous monitoring of fund utilization is paramount to ensure benefits reach intended recipients. He stressed that rectifying errors in beneficiary selection could optimize the use of finite resources and uphold citizens’ rights to social protection. Dr. Kabir further advised moving beyond annual budget cycles to adopt more effective medium- to long-term strategic frameworks for social protection.
The dialogue concluded with an open discussion segment, fostering engagement among university students, young researchers, and media representatives. The session was moderated by Dr. Mahbub Hasan, Senior Research Associate at Unnayan Shamannay.
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