Social security system yields minimum benefits

December 10, 2019

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The News originally Published in Financial Express

Bangladesh is getting minimum benefits from the current social security system because of its low coverage and low cash allowances, speakers at a conference said on Wednesday.

They suggested that the government should adopt a universal approach to establishing a progressive and inclusive national social security system.

They also called for building capacity of the poor to ensure their participation in the mainstream economy and development.

About the future challenges, the speakers said the country will not only have to cater to the needs of an increasing ageing population but also have to face the growing challenge of reduced access to decent jobs as a consequence of the fourth industrial revolution.

With every passing year, there will be a larger proportion of the population, which will find it difficult to manage its survival, let alone contribute to the nation-building, they noted.

The speakers made the observations at the inaugural session of the two-day 'Bangladesh Social Security Conference and Knowledge Fair 2019' at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Novo Theatre in the city.

Cabinet division and general economics division jointly organised the event to disseminate the findings of a number of research studies on critical issues of social protection system and to review the National Social Security Strategy (NSSS) implementation status.

Parliament Speaker Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury was present as the chief guest and Social Welfare Minister Nuruzzaman Ahmed as special guest.

Shirin Sharmin said economic growth helps alleviate poverty but doesn't essentially address inequality. That's why the issue of inequality has been brought under the sustainable development goals (SDGs).

"Social protection programmes plays a vital role as an urgent response to reducing inequality and it is possible through countering intergenerational transmission of poverty cycle. We cannot allow transmission of poverty from one generation to the other," she said.

The Speaker said social protection is not a cost or burden of the state, rather it is an investment as it helps build social capacity and human resources that stimulate local economy.

Cash transfer ensures better access to healthcare and higher enrollment in schools, she added.

"We must try to optimise the benefit of transfer by aiming at long-term impact of social protection instead of just being a measure to meet short-term crises. In planning social safety net programmes, it is important to ensure that it will bring in return that will be long-term and sustainable," she added.

UNDP Bangladesh resident representative Sudipto Mukerjee said the coverage across the social protection schemes is very low and Bangladesh pays some of the lowest cash allowances in the world.

As a result, the impacts from the current social security system are minimal, he added