Country to get $245m to boost safety net programmes

The World Bank (WB) has approved an additional USD 245 million to improve the equity, efficiency and transparency of major safety net programmes in Bangladesh, a WB press release said yesterday. The government will implement a number of safety net programmes to support the poor and vulnerable.

The financing for the ongoing ‘Safety Net Systems for the Poorest Project’ will benefit nine million poorest households. It will also help improve the performance of some of the country’s largest safety net programmes, which will be implemented by the disaster management department. These safety nets include public workfare and humanitarian assistance programmes.  “In FY 2017, Bangladesh spent around USD 3.5 billion on social protection, which is about 1.4 per cent of its GDP,” said Rajashree Paralkar, the WB’s operations manager.

“By effectively identifying poor households and administering the safety net programmes, the government will continue to reduce poverty and ensure effective use of public resources,” she added.

To help streamline safety net programme administration, the project will help build common platforms for improved beneficiary targeting, information management and digital payment. The financing will support the disaster

management department in rolling out a management information system to administer beneficiary records and programme processes. It will also help expand digital payment to beneficiaries with greater efficiency and transparency.

The project will also support the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics to complete the country’s first universal poverty registry—the National Household Database—which will be integrated with external information systems and allow various ministries and agencies to use its data for more equitable beneficiary selection. “The disaster management department will build upon ongoing efforts to strengthen the implementation of its safety net programmes,” said Ashiq Aziz, the WB’s Task Team leader.

“The additional financing will support the establishment of an integrated social protection service delivery system, as envisioned in the National Social Security Strategy. This will comprise a single registry, financially inclusive payment systems, strengthened beneficiary selection processes, effective grievance mechanisms, and results-based monitoring and evaluation,” he added.

Country to get $245m to boost safety net programmes

The World Bank (WB) has approved an additional USD 245 million to improve the equity, efficiency and transparency of major safety net programmes in Bangladesh, a WB press release said yesterday. The government will implement a number of safety net programmes to support the poor and vulnerable. The financing for the ongoing Safety Net Systems for the Poorest Project will benefit nine million poorest households. It will also help improve the performance of some of the countrys largest safety net programmes, which will be implemented by the disaster management department. These safety nets include public workfare and humanitarian assistance programmes. In FY 2017, Bangladesh spent around USD 3.5 billion on social protection, which is about 1.4 per cent of its GDP, said Rajashree Paralkar, the WBs operations manager. By effectively identifying poor households and administering the safety net programmes, the government will continue to reduce poverty and ensure effective use of public resources, she added. To help streamline safety net programme administration, the project will help build common platforms for improved beneficiary targeting, information management and digital payment. The financing will support the disaster management department in rolling out a management information system to administer beneficiary records and programme processes. It will also help expand digital payment to beneficiaries with greater efficiency and transparency. The project will also support the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics to complete the countrys first universal poverty registrythe National Household Databasewhich will be integrated with external information systems and allow various ministries and agencies to use its data for more equitable beneficiary selection. The disaster management department will build upon ongoing efforts to strengthen the implementation of its safety net programmes, said Ashiq Aziz, the WBs Task Team leader. The additional financing will support the establishment of an integrated social protection service delivery system, as envisioned in the National Social Security Strategy. This will comprise a single registry, financially inclusive payment systems, strengthened beneficiary selection processes, effective grievance mechanisms, and results-based monitoring and evaluation, he added.