National Social Protection Strategy Paper to get Cabinet nod

The National Social Protection Strategy Paper will be approved by the cabinet shortly, a member of the planning commission has said.

Dr Shamsul Alam said on Monday that the paper would be passed in “any cabinet (meeting) within the first week of May”.

He was speaking at the opening of a documentary film, styled “Leaving no one behind: social protection ensuring economic growth is sustainable and inclusive”, at the residence of the Australian High Commissioner in Dhaka.

The film, made by the Australian government, highlights the successes of social protection schemes in Bangladesh, Indonesia, and Philippines.

High Commissioner Greg Wilcock hosted the event.

Planning Commission member Alam said the strategy paper aimed at “streamlining” several protection programmes for the extremely poor.

“At least 145 programmes are in operation under 35 ministries. We spend 12.5 percent of our total budget on social protection. But there are duplication and many of them are not properly targeted,” he said.

“The strategy paper is needed because we want to improve the situation”.

He said the cabinet had approved this “in principle with some observations”.

“We are incorporating those observations and, I think, it’ll be passed in a cabinet meeting within the first week of May,” he said.

The social protection schemes target ultra-poor to to raise them to the level of ‘poor’.

The government defines ultra-poor as those earning below $1.25 per day.