Child focus budget placed proposing Tk 49,612 crore

Finance Minister Abul Maal Abdul Muhith tabled separate child budget today for the second time while placing the budget for the coming financial year before the Jatiya Sangsad at 2 june. 

"Last year, for the first time, we published a report titled 'Thoughts on Child Budget' comprising the child related activities undertaken by five ministries. This year, we are placing before the house a different report titled 'Blooming Children: Prosperous Bangladesh, child focus budget 2016-17' incorporating allocations for child related activities in seven ministries," the finance minister said. 

An allocation of Taka 49,612 crore, 14.5 percent of the national budget, has been proposed for seven ministries under child focused Budget (CFB) 2016-17. 

The seven ministries are - primary and mass education, education, health and family welfare, social welfare, women and children affairs, local government and disaster management and relief. 

The allocation in the proposed CFB is Taka 8,524 crore more than the proposed CFB of 2015-16 fiscal year, that was Taka 38,388 crore. The proposed CFB is 99 percent of the total budget of primary and mass education ministry, 66.5 percent of education ministry, 24.7 percent of health and family welfare ministry, 18.6 of social welfare ministry, 38.4 percent of women and children affairs ministry, 10 percent of local government division and 20 percent of disaster management and relief ministry.

This year report said the CFB implies a system in which children's best interests come first, where child-friendly social and economic policies and proper targeting procedures are put in place and where budgetary allocations are child-informed and compatible with policy commitments. 

The CFB is also about ensuring the effective and efficient prioritization of government budgets so that allocations are translated into concrete child-related outcomes, the book explained.

Source: BSS.