Planning Minister for raising social safety-net budget

Business Desk :
Planning Minister MA Mannan has laid emphasis on enhancing budget for social safety-net programmes as many people have fallen below the poverty line due to Covid-19 pandemic.
Replying to discussants during a webinar on Saturday, he said: “I also think that the allocation for social safety-net programmes should be boosted. I’m trying for this in the next budget.”
Mr Mannan was addressing the virtual event styled ‘Covid-19: Social safety-net Programmes and Right to Health’.
The discussion was hosted by the Development Journalists Forum of Bangladesh (DJFB) and the local private-sector development organisation Action for Social Development (ASD).
Bangladesh Institute for Development Studies (BIDS) senior research fellow Dr Nazneen Ahmed presented a keynote on the topic.
Economists, government officials, health service provider, development experts and journalists took part in the programme.
The speakers demanded enhancing social safety-net budget to 4.0 per cent of Bangladesh’s GDP (gross domestic product) instead of the current allocation of nearly 3.0 per cent.