The Cabinet meeting held on 10th September 2012 entrusted the General Economics Division (GED) of the Planning Commission to prepare the National Social Security Strategy (NSSS) under the guidance of a Central Monitoring Committee (CMC) for the Social Safety Net Programmes Chaired by the Cabinet Secretary.

In recognition of these concerns, the Government of Bangladesh has embarked upon the formulation of a comprehensive National Social Security Strategy (NSSS).

Consequently, the impact on poverty reduction from the amount of money spent in these programmes is much less than is possible with a better Social Security system. There is considerable leakage of allocated funds and a significant percentage of household beneficiaries are non-poor. The average benefit of safety net programmes is low and in many cases falling in real terms. But data also suggest that a large proportion of the poor and vulnerable households do not have any access to these programmes. Household Income and Expenditure Surveys (HIES) show that the coverage of these programmes for the poor and vulnerable households has increased and they have helped lower poverty.

The present safety net programmes reflect the Government’s response to support the poor and the vulnerable population manage those risks. Evidence shows that the poor and vulnerable group cannot cope with all the downside risks and shocks with their own resources. This includes the population that remains under the poverty line and those that are just above the poverty line but could easily fall below the poverty line because of these vulnerabilities. The Government appreciates that notwithstanding the past impressive progress with poverty reduction, there is a substantial population that remains exposed to poverty owing to various vulnerabilities. The Government seeks to build on past progress with poverty reduction and further deepen this progress by addressing the root causes of poverty and by lowering the impact of risks faced by the poor and vulnerable population. This commitment is reflected in Vision 2021, the Perspective Plan 2010-2021 and in the Sixth Five Year Plan FY11-FY15. The Government of Bangladesh is strongly committed to reducing poverty, improving human development and reducing inequality.

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