Bangladesh must urgently redirect resources within its fragmented social protection system and scale up a handful of proven programs that directly benefit the poorest, writes The Daily Star (Bangladesh) quoting Akhter Ahmed, Senior Research Fellow and Country Representative, IFPRI Bangladesh.
As the government prepares its budget for the upcoming fiscal year, Ahmed calls for a decisive shift in how social safety net funds are allocated.
In an interview, Ahmed said that while social protection spending has expanded significantly in recent years, the effectiveness of that spending remains in question.
“Reallocation is critical,” he said. “We must increase the benefit size, improve targeting, scale up successful programs and phase out inefficient ones.”
Drawing from over three decades of IFPRI policy evaluations and impact assessments in Bangladesh, Ahmed identified five programs that, in his view, should receive increased allocations in the upcoming budget: the Vulnerable Group Development (VGD) program, the Mother and Child Benefit Program, the Old Age Allowance, the Allowance for the Financially Insolvent Disabled, and the Allowance for Widowed, Deserted, and Destitute Women.
“These five programs together account for around 12 percent of the total social protection budget, excluding pensions, and they currently support about 13 million people,” he said.
“If you want to improve the welfare of the most vulnerable, these are the programs to scale up.”