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Social access situation and safety nets programmes in Bangladesh. Presentation to USAID Mission. Md Ruhul Amin Talukder Research Director (In-charge) Food Planning & Monitoring Unit Ministry of Food & Disaster Management Dhaka, Bangladesh 19 March 2009. Outline of the Presentation.
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Social access situation and safety nets programmes in Bangladesh Presentation to USAID Mission Md Ruhul Amin Talukder Research Director (In-charge) Food Planning & Monitoring Unit Ministry of Food & Disaster Management Dhaka, Bangladesh 19 March 2009
Outline of the Presentation Poverty and inequality situation Safety net programs in Bangladesh: types, coverage & beneficiaries Food based safety nets and PFDS Impacts so far Limitations, issues, challenges Way ahead
Poverty and inequality situation (contd.) • Poverty reduced at the desired rate from 1991-2007; however in 2007-08 the number increased from the previous yr; abs pov>>+7.5 million; extreme pov>>+6.9 million • Huge number under extreme poverty line (37.5 million+6.9 million) • Rural urban differences in reduction process; Differences across regions • Challenges to sustain the tempo
Poverty and inequality situation (contd.) Main problems of access relate to lack of purchasing power, seasonality, spatial dimension and market access and market functionality including the gender dimension. In 1992 the poorest quintile had a 6.5 per cent share of national income. This figure fell to 5.3 per cent in 2005.
Lowest 50% share only 20.32% of income • Income Gini Co-efficient rose .45~.47 ; rural area:0.393>>> 0.428 • In the poorest 20 percent of the population, 80% owned less than half an acre of land • Informal labour: wage & terms of jobs • Migrant workers having poor health & sanitation • Monga in lean seasons • Char and flood planes: continuous erosion and flood • Across geography people have different forms of insecurity • Natural disasters cause tremendous back flow Poverty and inequality situation (contd.) Wide spread Inequalities among the population
Safety net programs in Bangladesh: types, coverage & beneficiaries (contd) 5 types of social safety net programs: (a) cash support program; (b) food aid program; (c) special program for poverty reduction; (d) self-employment though micro credit; and (e) some specific programs for poverty alleviation Five criteria:i. income criteria; ii. occupational criteria; iii. physical ability criteria; iv. ethnic criteria; iv. gender and children criteria; and v. regional disparity criteria • about 47 SNPs in Bangladesh- cash and food based, conditional and unconditional ; implemented by different Ministries • Vulnerable Group Feeding (VGF), Open Market Sales (OMS), Cash for work (CFW)/Food for Work (FFW), Vulnerable Group Development (VGD), Test Relief (TR) and Gratuitous Relief (GR), Old-Age Allowance Scheme (OAAS), Allowances for the Distressed Disabled Persons (ADDP), Allowance Scheme for Widowed and Distressed Women, Cash for Education (CFE), Female Secondary Stipend Programmes, Rural Social Service (RSS), Urban Social Service, Fund for Mitigating Risks for Natural Disasters, Asrayan/Abashan Programme, Housing Fund programme a large number of NGO programmes>>need to make inventory
Safety net programs in Bangladesh: types, coverage & beneficiaries (contd) Extended budget: Social Safety Net budget is about 2.14~2.8 percent of the GDP; 13.32%~16.94% of Government expenditure (Source: PRSP-II) Extended Coverage: (Source: PRSP-II) Cash Transfer (Allowances) Program (e.g. Old Age Allowance, GR cash, GRA)-4.87 million Cash Transfer (Special) Program (e.g. Cash For Work, Housing support)- -13.7 million Food Security Programs (e.g. VGD, VGF, TR, GR, FFW)-9.5 million (23.7 million man-month) Micro-Credit Programs (e.g. Micro-credit for Women Self-employment):-7.6 million Miscellaneous Funds: (Fund for the Welfare of Acid Burnt and Disables)- 2.0 million New Fund: (e.g 100 day employment gen prog)- 2.0 million man-month+0.04 million Development Sector Programs (e.g. Stipend for Primary Students, School feeding)-15.5 million Shift in approach:charity approach>>>>>development approach
Public food distribution system and food based safety nets (contd) • Shift from ration based (sales) to non-sales • 1970s~early 90s sales channels were prominent; early 90s through early 2000s share of non-sales rose sharply, then fell a bit again • Average 73% for targeted safety nets since 1997-98, if OMS is included it will be more • Subsidy in the level of 62 million dollar (avg from 2000-01)
Public food distribution system and food based safety nets (contd.) Distribution under VGF varies with shocks; 2008-09 not yet ended-1.5 million more hh be covered under VGF
Food aid flow in relation to Total Imports • Food aid as % of total import fell from 28% in 1997-98 to 7% in 2007-08; • Food aid as % of total GOB import fell from 100% in 1999-2000 to 48% in 2007-08
Donor wise food aid Nil last yr
Food aid and distribution in major safety nets In later half of 90s food aid met on avg~74% of distribution under targeted safety nets; from 2000-01 the share fell to ~30%. In scaling scale up PFDS, there is need for expenditure reallocation in favour of safety nets, which necessitates increased food aid flow. But the concern is food aid has been dwindling over time, bundled and that timeliness and actual arrival of food aid have less adherence to what have been committed by DPs.
Impacts of safety nets All the SSNPs have immediate economic improvement effects, some development effects as well as empowerment impacts (Source: PRSP-II, BIDS, IFPRI, (2001-2007) Programs targeted at women have (a) increased women’s participation in household decision-making; (b) improved health conditions of women and their family members; (c) encouraged small investments for income generation in the future; and (d) revived the traditional system of in-family care FFE/CFE programs impacted long term development by fostering human capital formation through increasing the primary enrolment rate, promoting school attendance, and reducing drop-out rates presence of local economy effects of social transfers>>need to examine
Issues and challenges of SSNPs • Fiscal Constraints: dwindling food aid/unpredictability/delay in arrival, Inadequate storage facilities in PFDS, Insufficient resources to import from own resources, Limited Coverage, Inadequacy of the Amount of Transfers • Institutional Constraints: Absence of Integrated National SSN Policy, Gender specific risks and insecurity in the labour market; Targeting and leakages • Information Constraints:Missing Poor and New Vulnerabilities; Insensitivity to Geographic and Agro-Ecology Specific Poverty
Way forward • National Social Protection policy- social safety nets and their fit in the wider development policy • More development orientation of programs • Labour policies to focus on improving conditions for rural and informal workers • Continue and expand coverage; better targeting • Allowance/transfer to increase • Small programs Under One umbrella • Separate program for hard to reach areas • New programs for new vulnerable • New programs for nutritional outcomes, ethnic pop, monga • Improve/enhance PFDS storage system • Improve coordination, periodic review and management efficiency • Strengthen monitoring, evaluation and research • The government will appreciate continued USAID assistance Thank you