Why did Bangladesh’s earlier welfare state initiatives stall?

Bangladesh is again planning to introduce a life-cycle-based social security system through the upcoming national budget, aiming to provide state support from pregnancy to old age.

However, similar efforts were initiated nearly a decade ago but failed to progress beyond the planning stage.

Economists and policy experts say the country already operates several social protection programmes, but the absence of coordination, weak beneficiary selection and lack of long-term planning prevented the earlier initiative from taking shape.

The renewed push comes as the government prepares to increase social security allocations and gradually expand coverage under a proposed welfare state framework by 2032.

Earlier attempts

Bangladesh began work on a life-cycle-based National Social Security Strategy in 2015 with support from a UK-based organisation.

The initiative aimed to bring different social protection programmes under a unified framework covering citizens throughout different stages of life. However, the process later stalled without major implementation progress.

Several developed countries, including the United Kingdom, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Germany, France, Canada, Australia and Japan, already operate similar social security models.

Bangladesh currently runs a range of separate social protection programmes, including maternity allowances during pregnancy, support for lactating mothers, education stipends, unemployment allowances and old-age support.

However, officials and researchers say these programmes operate without an integrated structure.

According to planning ministry reports, many beneficiaries receiving support under existing schemes are not actually eligible.

Towfiqul Islam Khan, research director at the Centre for Policy Dialogue, said transparency in beneficiary selection would be crucial if the government wants to move towards universal coverage.

“Around 18% of current Family Card recipients were reportedly ineligible for the programme,” he said.

Former World Bank lead economist Zahid Hussain said the government would need a clear implementation strategy, demographic projections and long-term financing plans to avoid repeating past failures.

He said many current programmes continue on an ad hoc basis, leaving major gaps in support systems, particularly for unemployed graduates and retired citizens without pensions.

Experts also warned that mobilising sufficient revenue would remain one of the biggest challenges in implementing a comprehensive welfare state model.