Social Protection
Momentum in Bangladesh
03 November 2013
Shashwatee Biplob -Senior Program Manager
Development Cooperation, Australian High Commission
Issues constraining Outcome:
•
Number of programs
•
Size of Transfers
•
Leakages and corruption
•
Duplication
•
Exclusion/ Inclusion Errors
•
Sector Governance
•
Evidence of Impact
Key Issues:
•
Coverage / adequacy …… impact
•
Food ….. cash
•
Poverty targeting ….. social categorical/ life cycle
•
GoB…… CSOs
Poverty Rate: 1991-2010
• Poverty rate has been halved from 1991 to 2010
• Still the rate is high 31.5%, around 47 million
people
70
60
50
40
National
Rural
30
Urban
20
10
0
1991-92
1995-96
2000
2005
2010
10000
How different are the lives of the people
below and above the poverty line???
4000
6000
8000
Difference in
level of per
capita
consumption
of the 3rd
and 8th
decile is not
great
BNPL X 2
2000
BNPL X 1.5
BNPL X 1.2
0
BNPL
0
.2
.4
.6
cumulative percentage
.8
1
Life-cycle risks:
Scope of Social Protection Reform:
“It shall be a fundamental responsibility of the state to
attain……..the 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.”
- Article 15, Constitution of Bangladesh
•
Sixth Five Year Plan (2011): Increase spending to 3% of
GDP by 2015
•
Government has resolved to develop a National Social
Protection Strategy (NSPS) by February 2014.
Current Social Protections:
9
0.14
8
0.12
7
0.10
6
5
0.08
4
0.06
3
0.04
2
0.02
1
0
0.00
Number of recipients
Cost
Cost (% of GDP)
Number of recipients (millions)
Spending vs. Coverage:
National Social Protection Strategy
Development:
•
Led by a 12 member inter-ministerial committee, Cabinet
Secretary as Chair, GED as Secretariat
•
SP Study tour to South Africa and Lesotho
•
A consortium of South Asian Network on Economic
Modelling (SANEM) and the Policy Research Institute (PRI)
was contracted to help in drafting the NSPS.
•
At sectoral level, Inter-Ministerial Committee (22) and a
Monitoring Sub-Committee (8) are linked to NSPS
•
GoB/ DPs: Local Consultative Group on Poverty and SP sub
group
National Social Protection Strategy
Development:
10 background research papers:
1.
Poverty, Vulnerability and Inequality in Bangladesh
2.
Building a social protection system to address urban poverty in Bangladesh
3.
Social Protection Strategy to address social and gender-based exclusion, including
disability, high-risk groups and minority;
4.
Social Protection financing and affordability
5.
Social Protection Strategies to address idiosyncratic and covariate risks and socks,
including seasonal poverty, econo9mic recession and natural disaster;
6.
Taking stock and moving forward: enhancing labour strategies for Bangladesh's
vulnerable groups
7.
State of governance within social protection sector in Bangladesh
8.
Building a social protection system to address the demographic challenges faced by
Bangladesh
9.
International best practice in Social Protection: implications for Bangladesh
10.
Review of Bangladesh Social Protection Sector
National Social Protection Strategy
Development:
•
Zero draft of 8 papers have already been shared with DPs
and got feedback
•
A visioning workshop for SP was held on 27 October,
Sunday – DPs, CSOs and GoB attended
•
Possible options for reform, approaches, micro and macro
level impact on poverty, affordability/ fiscal space
Percentage reduction in poverty gap for
households with over-65s:
Tk.450
Tk.600
30%
Universal
Tk.800
Tk.1000
0
10
20
30
Percentage reduction in poverty gap
40
50
Percentage reduction in poverty gap for
households with 0-4 years at various
transfer levels:
Tk.150
Tk.300
10%
30%
Universal
Tk.500
0
5
10
15
20
Percentage reduction in poverty gap
25
30
Universal Old Age and Child Grant
Combined impact:
Next Course of Actions:
•
Finalizing the 10 background papers
•
Zero draft of NSPS by 31st October 2013
•
Comments will be sought from different ministries/
divisions, experts, CSOs, think tanks, DPs.
•
Regional (Nov.) and National (Nov. & Dec.) dialogues will
be held
•
SP sub committee meeting on the revised draft
•
Central Monitoring committee Meeting to Finalise the draft
•
Process for approval by the competent authority.
THANKS