The Government of Bangladesh estimates that 16 million women, men and children, or 10 per cent of the population, live with some form of disability. In order to invest in of persons with disabilities, the Government of Bangladesh introduced a targeted cash transfer for persons with disabilities in 2006. This transfer, known as the Allowance for Financially Insolvent Persons with Disabilities is implemented by the Ministry of Social Welfare through the Department of Social Security in co-operation with committees at the national, district and regional levels.
This unconditional and non-contributory cash transfer scheme targets citizens of Bangladesh who are both poor and have a disability. In order to be eligible for the cash transfer, persons with disabilities must be above six years of age, be a local resident and have an annual income of less than BDT24,000 (approximately USD300). In addition, selection committees give priority to older persons, homeless, women with multiple disabilities and children who are poor and intellectually impaired. While the entitlement is low, at less than USD4 per month, the scheme reached nearly 300,000 people in 2012. In addition to this scheme, children with disabilities in Bangladesh are also entitled to a stipend designed to assist students with disabilities to continue their education in specialised and mainstream educational institutions up to the university level. In 2015 50,500 students with disabilites received cash transfers, of those students 640 were provided with special education, 64 provided with visually impaired schools and 1,630 persons with disabilitie placed throughout 9 training centers.
Bangladesh's cash transfer scheme for persons with disabilities is supported by a legal framework, recently strengthened with the passing of the Persons with Disabilities Rights and Protection Act in Bangladesh in 2013. The Act clearly outlines the responsibility of the State in guaranteeing access to social and income support schemes for persons with disabilities. While this demonstrates a firm commitment, gaps in coverage remain. Specifically, the current transfer amount does not meet the nationally defined minimum income threshold and reaches only a small portion of the estimated population living with disabilities. The scheme nonetheless represents an important investment towards an inclusive social protection floor in Bangladesh, and with its expansion increasing numbers of persons with disabilities will have access to basic income security.
Further Reading:
- Asian Development Bank (2012). Peoples Republic of Bangladesh: Updating and improving the social protection index. Accessed from: http://www.adb.org/sites/default/files/project-document/76051/44152-012-reg-tacr-03.pdf on February 18 2016.