Chumki for strengthening social protection programme

State Minister for Women and Children Affairs Meher Afroze Chumki today said the government is expanding an inclusive social protection programme to lift the poor people out of poverty. 

"We are targeting different vulnerable groups of people, including elderly persons, widows and destitute women, to bring them under the social protection programme," she told a workshop at the CIRDAP conference hall here. 

Save the Children, Bangladesh, in cooperation with different international development organizations organized the workshop styled "Inclusive Social Protection for the Poor".

Director general of Department of Disaster Management Md Reaz Ahmed, director general of Department of Social Services Gazi Mohammad Nurul Kabir, country director of Save the Children Mark Taylor Pierce and acting country representative of DFID Bangladesh Jim McAlpine, among others, addressed the workshop.

Chumki said Bangladesh has made a considerable progress in reducing poverty rate as the government has been implementing massive development programmes in the past eight and half years.

Although early marriage remains a challenge for Bangladesh, the menace has been reduced by 13 percent in the past five years, she added.

Referring to different challenges for eliminating poverty from the country, Chumki said nutritional status of under five children should be improved to build a healthy nation through strengthening social safety-net programme.

Percentage of extreme poor in the country is 12.9 while overall rate of the poor is 18.5, Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) sources said.

According to the budget for the fiscal year 2017-2018, monthly allowances for old people and widows, deserted and destitute women have been increased to Taka 600 from taka 500. 

The number of the beneficiaries of old age allowance and widows, deserted and destitute women has also been increased to 35 lakh and 12.65 lakh accordingly. Six lakh poor women are getting monthly maternity allowance of Taka 700 from the current financial year. 

The number of the beneficiaries of allowances for the financially insolvent has been increased to 8.25 lakh from 7.50 lakh with the monthly grant increasing to Taka 700 from Taka 600. 

Other speakers said Bangladesh has done remarkably well in pulling down malnutrition rate particularly stunting children in the past couple of years. 

At present, stunting rate under five children is 36, which was above 40 percent in few years ago, they said adding there are challenges for Bangladesh to address malnutrition problem as the country is facing higher under nutrition rate compared to different developing countries.

Source: bss