Speakers in a dialogue of the CPD on ‘Inception of Social Insurance Forum in Bangladesh’ said that it is time to introduce social insurance instead of a social safety net programme.

The speakers said this in the dialogue organised by the research institute Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) and GIZ on Thursday.

Khandkar Golam Moazzem, research director of CPD, presented the keynote at the event. CPD Board of Trustee member Parveen Mahmud presided over the event.

They said that given the existing socio-economic conditions of Bangladesh, it is not allowed to remain only in the social safety net.

The speakers said now is the time to introduce social insurance. The issue should be brought up in the action plan of the government, they said.

Many countries introduced social insurance over 100 years ago while Bangladesh is far behind in this field, they said.

Those nations are now reaping the benefits of this system, and Bangladesh should learn from those countries and move forward in this regard, they said.

In the keynote presentation, Dr Moazzem underscored ‘The SIF (Social Insurance Forum) aims to bridge knowledge gaps, facilitate framework development, establish networks with stakeholders, and track progress in thematic areas.’

“The knowledge gap will be bridged by identifying and addressing gaps in understanding through the dissemination of detailed insights into policy requirements,” he said.

Clarity on organisational and operational workflows will be emphasised to enhance comprehension and implementation, he pointed out.

In the presentation, Moazzem also said that there are many loopholes in the social safety net, and those who are supposed to get social protection do not get it. Those who are not supposed to get it, get it.

In this reality, if social insurance is introduced, it will be possible to fix these loopholes, he said.

Syed Saad Hossain Gilani, chief technical consultant of ILO's Dhaka office, expressed his surprise due to the lack of social security insurance in the country.

He blamed the sluggish bureaucracy for this. The government formulated the Social Security Strategy eight years ago. But the speed of its implementation is very low., he said.

He mainly blamed the lack of knowledge and experience of the bureaucracy for this.

“Social insurance is for everyone; it is not only for the poor because each one of us can experience unemployment, sickness, and aging’, said Dr Silvia Popp, Project Manager, of the Employment Injury Protection Scheme for Workers in the Textile and Leather Industries (EIPS).

Representatives of various NGOs including the country's microcredit institutions participated in the discussion phase of the programme.

They said that a lot of work has been done on microcredit and microinsurance in the country, and many pilot projects have been launched. Insurance companies also have regular mini-insurance products.

These projects and work experience need to be shared with everyone, then the work of social insurance will speed up, said the representatives of various NGOs.