Under the leadership of Dr Yunus, the interim government is determined to proceed with LDC graduation. Now Bangladesh is approaching LDC graduation by November 2026 on the back of sustained progress and with strong political will, there is no time for complacency. Although, a section of business leaders insists on deferring graduation for 6 years. The is a matter of prestige and is inevitable for the nation.
Bangladesh is a densely populated country, where one third of its people are living below the national poverty line vulnerable to some challenges graduation. The vulnerable condition of Bangladesh may force people who are now barely above the poverty line into the depths of poverty any moment. About 2 million people are employed by the government and are eligible for pensions after they retire at age 59, but most of the country’s labour force, which is rural, does not receive a pension.
About 80,000 people are added to this older population every year, which is projected to be over 17 million people by 2025, growing at a rate faster than that of Europe’s, according to government officials. Allowances, food stamps and food rations, subsidies for basic goods, public programs which provide livelihoods and income for the poor, and fee waivers for services such as healthcare are identified by experts as examples of needed social security nets.
Bangladesh needs very urgent steps to support the people living under poverty line and upgrade them to be skilled manpower. Bangladesh is exposed to natural disasters, extreme weather events and other shocks, leaving the poorest without any form of protection. However, few other safety nets exist, and officials and experts say that providing social security benefits to assure food, lodging and health care facilities for the impoverished should become the country’s top priority.
The government runs two major programs for supporting vulnerable populations. The Vulnerable Group Feeding (VGF) program provides food to low income and other vulnerable groups who cannot meet basic needs for survival due to natural disasters or socio-economic circumstances, such as age, illness or disease. The Vulnerable Group Development (VGD) program, on the other hand, exclusively enables the poorest rural women and their family members to overcome food insecurity and their low social and economic status. VGD includes sustained, longer-term activities such as risk management for natural disasters, HIV/AIDS prevention, maternal and child health and livelihood skills. Over time, the relief programs such as VGF should move towards becoming sustainable development programs like VGD.
Meanwhile, existing social security measures are unable to meet the needs of vulnerable people, and the scope of these programs urgently needs to be widened.

There are five lingering sources of vulnerability which will continue to shape the trajectory of Bangladesh towards graduation and beyond: (a) Excessive reliance on LDC-specific international support measures (most notably in terms of preferential market-access); (b) Lack of export diversification and over-reliance on low-technology textile and clothing products; (c) Poor index of Ease of Doing Business, (d) Dependence on external development finance, predominantly in the form of migrant remittances, to support capital accumulation; (e) Exposure to the far-reaching effects of climate change, notably in terms of sea level rise and heightened frequency/intensity of natural disasters.

In the context of LDC graduation and beyond, the nation must take urgent program and actions of (a) Enhancing domestic resource mobilization; (b) Reform of back dated laws and regulations of business, (c) Investing in climate-resilient and digital infrastructure; (d) Improving the business environment; (e) Mobilizing renewed investments in human capital and the science, technology and innovation (STI) ecosystem; (f) Anchoring LDC graduation in the national policy strategies and industrial policy framework.

The identification and classification of what constitutes vulnerable groups with respect to poverty is important and depends on country context. With this benchmark, particular population groups in Bangladesh are especially vulnerable to poverty. They are: (01) Households with young children; (02) Rural young; (03) Women (and widow); (04) Disabled; (05) Older persons; (06) Indigenous people; (07) Migrants and refugees; (08) Unemployed; (09) Unskilled; (10) Slum dwellers etc.

The social safety net (SSN) measures exactly fit in the need of a wide range of the poor who require diverse assistance according to their specific conditions. SSNs have protection and promotion effect. The social protection system in Bangladesh previously was a highly complex. According to the Ministry of Planning, as of 2015, there were 145 programs under the social protection system financed through the budget.

Previously, the programs were administered by as many as 23-line ministries and agencies, with no formal mechanism for sharing information between the relevant agencies. As such, because of the proliferation of programs, the ‘budget for most programs were small’ and the ‘average benefit per individual is low. The present government has identified several social protection priorities. National Social Security Strategy (NSSS) aims to consolidate all safety net programs to support citizens who are most in need. The prioritized beneficiaries of the NSSS are women, children, the aged and disabled.

Besides low coverage across the country, other problems associated with existing SSN programs include “uneven geographical coverage, with particularly low coverage in urban areas” and “transfer levels that are too low to impact poverty.”

Government has undertaken some initiative to reduce the number of programs and focused on some aspects. The current budget of 2025-26 has significantly reformed aiming to reduce the total number of social safety net programs from 140 to under 100. Among the programs, thirty-eight existing programs are to be grouped into new “pro-poor” categories to better target the most vulnerable.

SSN allocation also increased for FY25-26 to Tk 95,908 crore, representing a 12.18% increase from the previous year’s Tk 90,468 crore. According to sources within the ministry, after the interim government took office, the ministry adopted and implemented several effective and fruitful programs for the welfare of the people.
The Social Welfare Ministry provides financial assistance for patients of six major non-communicable diseases, including cancer, kidney, liver cirrhosis, paralysis due to brain stroke, congenital heart disease and Thalassemia. Thousands of people have been provided financial assistance through the Support Services for Vulnerable Groups (SSVG) project. Other programs includes programs to improve the living standards of tea workers, an allowance, fund for the construction of housing according to the approved model for the construction of sustainable housing to improve the quality of life of homeless tea garden workers.
‘Elderly Allowance’ programs specially widowed and husband’s deserted women, assistance to people with disabilities, establishment of establish a sports complex for sportsmen with special needs, financial assistance for Hijra Community Quality of Life Improvement, Assistance for Bede community in order to bring into mainstream of society, special allowances and educational allowances have been provided, as well as various vocational training arrangements have been made to raise skills of the working Bede people and involve them in income-generating activities. Other program includes to support for backward communities such as “Jele” (fishermen), ‘Sannyashi’, ‘Rishi’ or ‘Hrishi’, ‘Beharas’, ‘Dhopa’, ‘Napit’ (barbers) and ‘Haajam’ and so on. A rehabilitation and alternative employment program for beggars titled “Rehabilitation and Alternative.
The National Social Welfare Council provides Grants to coordination councils for human resource development, urban social service and Grants to patient welfare associations for the treatment of destitute, helpless, poor and disabled patients. Bangladesh National Social Welfare Council extend assistance to Correction and Rehabilitation Associations.
One-time assistance to improve the quality of life of small ethnic groups, ethnic groups and communities and Construction of houses for the rehabilitation of landless people and slum dwellers due to river erosion. Another project also for Assistance for the rehabilitation of those affected by natural disasters.
The Social Welfare Council provided special grants in the in addition, educational assistance was provided to several poor and meritorious students. Thousand people were trained in 22 courses under the “Development of Skills of Workers in Social Welfare Activities” program for men, women and people with special needs.
A NDD (Neurodevelopment Disabilities) Protection Trust has launched a training program for parents or guardians of children or individuals with NDD symptoms and also a project of a training program for teachers of NDD schools.
To make parents or guardians of autism and NDD children aware of the rights including care, health, education, a 493-page training module called Caregiver Skill Training (SST) has been prepared by NDD Protection Trust with the technical assistance of the World Health Organization (WHO).
Safety net programs in Bangladesh have been contributing to the reduction of poverty and vulnerability by addressing a range of population groups through different forms of assistance. These include the provision of income security for the elderly, widows and persons-with-disabilities, generating temporary employment for working aged men and women, and supporting the healthy development of young mothers and children.
Bangladesh needs more social safety net (SSN) primarily to downtrodden peoples and there are policy instruments of Ministry of Social Welfare is headed by Adviser Sharmin S. Murshid, a ex-NGO activist and experienced in working with vulnerable people. The micro finance along with training to skill, education and health programs etc for micro borrowers are largely used in developing countries for the poor and the vulnerable population.

M. S. Siddiqui
Former Non-Government Adviser, Bangladesh Competition Commission, Legal Economist &
CEO, Bangla Chemical
e-mail: shah@banglachemical.com