By Obaidur Rahman

DHAKA, Aug 10, 2025 (BSS) – Patients of six types of non-communicable diseases, including cancer and kidney, are receiving grants from the Ministry of Social Welfare while sitting in the hospital. 

The ministry gave nearly Tk 300 crore in grants to patients in this sector in the last one year. Each patient received a one-time grant of Tk 50,000.

In the 2024-‘25 fiscal year, the ministry provided 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. 

Through the Department of Social Services, 45,000 patients in 64 districts were provided Taka 225 crore assistance to this end. Direct assistance was provided through the ministry, and 15,000 patients were given Tk 75 crore. 

A total of 60,000 people have been provided financial assistance through the Support Services for Vulnerable Groups (SSVG) project.

Ministry of Health and Social Welfare started its journey in 1972 after the independence. Later, in 1989, the Ministry of Social Welfare emerged as a completely separate ministry under a single name.

When the fascist Sheikh Hasina fled in the mass uprising in July last year, an interim government led by Professor Dr. Muhammad Yunus was formed. 

Currently, Sharmeen Soneya Murshid popularly known as Sharmeen S Murshid is serving as the adviser to the Ministry of Social Welfare. She assumed office on August 9, 2024.

According to ministry sources, after the interim government took office, the ministry adopted and implemented several effective and fruitful programmes for the welfare of the people.

Assistance to Tea Workers: As part of the program to improve the living standards of tea workers, an allowance of Taka 6,000 per person was given in the 2024-‘25 fiscal year which was distributed among 60,000 workers involving Taka 36.26 crore.

At the same time, under the initiative of the Bangladesh National Social Welfare Council, 65 homeless families in six tea garden districts (Moulvibazar, Habiganj, Sylhet, Chattogram and Panchagarh) were allocated Taka two crore 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, widowed and husband’s deserted women allowance: The 'Elderly Allowance' programme was introduced in the 1997-98 fiscal year. In the 2024-25 fiscal year, 60.1 lakh people were given an allowance at the rate of Taka 600 taka per month. The total allocation is Taka 4,350.97 crore.

In addition, the government has provided allowances at the rate of Taka 550 each per month to 27.75 lakh widowed and husband’s deserted women. In the 2024-‘25 fiscal, Taka 1,844.32 crore was given in this regard.

Assistance to people with disabilities: In order to establish equal opportunities and rights for people with disabilities with other citizens, Tk 3,321.77 crore was distributed among 32.34 lakh disabled people in the fiscal year 2024-‘25. The monthly allowance for which was Taka 850 per person.

Along with this, allowances were given to one lakh disabled students for higher education and others in the fiscal year 2024-‘25. For which the allocation was Tk 113.71 crore where the monthly allowance is Tk 900 for primary level, Tk 950 for secondary and higher secondary level and Tk 1300 for higher level.

To establish a sports complex for sportsmen with special needs, the construction of a sports complex is underway at a cost of Tk 486.79 crore on 12.1 acres of land in Baraigram and Dakshin Ramchandrapur Mouza of Savar Upazila.

The government has allocated 4.1 acres of land for Shaheed Farhan Faiyaz Playground on the west side of the Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban in the capital. Necessary measures have been taken to keep them active by organizing sports for disabled children and teenagers in this field.

Hijra Community Quality of Life Improvement Program: A total of 14,129 people have been provided financial assistance across the country to improve the quality of life of the Hijra (trans gender) community. Out of which 12,229 people have received special allowances, 400 have received education allowances and 1,500 have received vocational training.

Assistance for Bede (Gypsy) Community people: In order to integrate the backward Bede community people into the 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. A total of 10,898 Bede people have been provided financial assistance in the 2024-‘25 fiscal. Of these, 5,600 have received special allowances, 4,398 educational allowances, and 900 vocational training.

Support for backward communities: According to a survey by the Department of Social Services, there are about 14.90 lakh backward communities in Bangladesh such as “Jele” (fishermen), ‘Sannyashi’, ‘Rishi’ or ‘Hrishi’, ‘Beharas’, ‘Dhopa’, ‘Napit’ (barbers) and ‘Haajam’ and so on. In the 2024-‘25 fiscal, 60,000 people were given special allowances, 28,912 people were given educational grants and 1,920 people were given vocational training. The total number of beneficiaries is 90,832 people. 

Rehabilitation and alternative employment for beggars: In order to deter people from disrespectful professions like begging, a program titled "Rehabilitation and Alternative 

 

 

Employment of People Engaged in Begging" was taken for the rehabilitation and alternative employment of people engaged in begging. 

The Department of Social Services allocated Tk 12 crore for distribution in favor of 3,000 people in the 2024-‘25 fiscal.

In addition, 120 beggars were rehabilitated by the Bangladesh National Social Welfare Council by providing a grant of Taka 50 lakh for the elimination of begging and rehabilitation.

Grants to national-level institutions: A grant of Taka one crore was provided to 21 national-level institutions recognized by the Bangladesh National Social Welfare Council in the 2024-’25 fiscal.

Grants to registered general voluntary organizations: In the fiscal year 2024-‘25, the National Social Welfare Council provided a total of Taka 11 crore to 4,533 registered general voluntary organizations.

Grants to coordination councils for human resource development, urban social service: The National Social Welfare Council provided a grant of Taka two crore in favor of 80 coordination councils in the fiscal year 2024-‘25.

Grants to patient welfare associations for the treatment of destitute, helpless, poor and disabled patients: In the fiscal year 2024-‘25, the Bangladesh National Social Welfare Council provided a grant of Taka 22 crore to 530 patient welfare associations.

Correction and Rehabilitation of Offenders: In the fiscal year 2024-‘25, a total of Taka 64 lakh has been provided by the Bangladesh National Social Welfare Council to 63 Correction and Rehabilitation Associations.

Grants to District and Upazila Social Welfare Committees: In the fiscal year 2024-‘25, a total of Taka 3.50 crore has been provided by the Bangladesh National Social Welfare Council to 64 District Social Welfare Committees.

In addition, a total of Taka three crore has been provided to 492 Upazila Social Welfare Committees.

One-time assistance to improve the quality of life of small ethnic groups, ethnic groups and communities: In the fiscal year 2024-‘25, a total of Taka 1.75 crore has been provided by the Bangladesh National Social Welfare Council to improve the quality of life of 10,000 small ethnic groups, ethnic groups and communities.

Construction of houses for the rehabilitation of landless people and slum dwellers due to river erosion: In the fiscal year 2024-‘25, a total of Taka four crore was provided by the National Social Welfare Council for the construction of 131 houses for the rehabilitation of landless people and slum dwellers due to river erosion.

Assistance for the rehabilitation of those affected by natural disasters: In the fiscal year 2024-‘25, a total of Taka one crore was provided by the National Social Welfare Council for the rehabilitation of those affected by natural disasters across the country.

Special grants: The Social Welfare Council provided a grant of Taka 17 crore for special grants in the fiscal year 2024-‘25. In addition, educational assistance was provided to 3,249 poor and meritorious students.

Training programs: In the fiscal year 2024-‘25, 804 people were trained in 22 courses under the "Development of Skills of Workers in Social Welfare Activities" program. Out of which 593 are men, 203 are women and eight are people with special needs.

Training of Parents or Guardians: NDD (Neurodevelopment Disabilities) Protection Trust has launched a training program for parents or guardians of children or individuals with NDD symptoms. Under this, 250 guardians have been trained in the fiscal year 2024-‘25.

Training of Special School Teachers: NDD Protection Trust has launched a training programme for teachers of NDD schools. A total of 220 special school teachers have been trained in the fiscal year 2024-25.

Caregiver Skill Training (CST) Programme: In order 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). Caregiver training was provided to 100 people in the fiscal year 2024-‘25.

One-time grant as medical assistance: Financial assistance is provided from the NDD Protection Trust as medical assistance to NDD persons. In the fiscal year 2024-‘25, 3,847 NDD persons were provided medical assistance of Taka 10,000 each. 

Special activities carried out by the Ministry of Social Welfare: Taka 9,561 crore has been distributed directly to 1,21,44,782 beneficiaries in four instalments in the fiscal year 2024-‘25 through the G2P system, with transparency within the stipulated time.

In the case of receiving allowance, the maximum annual average income of the beneficiary has been fixed at Tk 10,000 to Tk 45,000 and initiatives have already been taken to select the beneficiaries by issuing a circular.

Under the social security programme, four policies related to the improvement of the quality of life of the Bede, Hijra, backward and tea workers have been integrated into a comprehensive policy titled "Improvement of the Quality of Life of Backward Communities", 2025.

 

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In addition, the integrated policy titled "Disability Allowance and Education Stipend Programme", 2025, has been formulated by merging 2 policies related to the disability allowance and education stipend program for disabled students.

"Under the financial assistance program for patients suffering from cancer, kidney, liver cirrhosis, stroke, congenital heart disease and Thalassemia, financial assistance was provided to 633 people for the first time with the aim of providing direct money to the affected people. 

This is Taka 58,16,50,011 through 30 (19 government and 11 private) hospitals. The patients received the money within a week of the disbursement.

Supportive materials such as wheelchairs and tricycles have been distributed free of cost to students involved in the anti-discrimination movement.

The mobile van is providing doorstep services to the injured students. Some 76 services have been provided to 19 of the injured students through the therapy van.

Among the seriously injured and affected people in the July mass uprising, Taka 1,23,50,000  was provided to various hospitals. Of the total, each student was provided Taka 50,000.

A total of Taka 2,99,93,050 was provided to 2,458 injured students in the anti-discrimination student movement through the social service office in 638 hospitals in 420 health complexes in 64 districts including Dhaka city.

Taka total 280 crore (per person Taka 2,000) was provided as monthly grant to 1,16,666 orphans in 4,271 capitation grant  recipient private orphanages in the country. Out of 35 projects under implementation, 17 projects were completed in different periods.

Under the Disability Identification Programme, about 36 lakh disabled people were identified and given golden citizen cards. To ensure transparency and accountability in the distribution of cochlear implants, Taka 40 crore was directly distributed to hospitals after determining specifications.

By creating modern infrastructure facilities for 19 children's families, improved housing facilities were provided to about 2,500 residents.

Under the Grant Recurring Assistance Programme, four new integrated child rehabilitation centers were approved. Each center has 100 boys and 100 girls.

A monitoring and evaluation sub-division or branch was established in the ministry for regular monitoring of projects and activities.

Under the Internship Policy 2023, 12 students were provided internships for a period of four months in various sub-divisions or branches and subordinate offices under the Ministry of Social Welfare.

An agreement was signed with Coders Trust and UCEP to provide multi-faceted training to 300 backward and underprivileged adolescents for job-oriented and skill-enhancing purposes.

Facilities were constructed and furniture was added to eight senior citizens' homes for the better living of 25 senior citizens each. The Burned, Injured and Disabled Rehabilitation Policy, 2025 was formulated.

A women's rally titled "July daughters, we will not let you disappear" was organized at the initiative of the Ministry of Social Welfare.

A total of 172,000 men and women took the oath across the country through the July revival and the oath-taking ceremony in Lakhs of Voices.

A total of 1,314 public auditoriums under the Department of Social Services have been revived in different parts of the country. Out of these, initiatives have been taken to record those that have been documented and document the rest.

A ‘Zakat Fair’ has been organized to provide support to the Patient Welfare Association and a donation of Taka 85 lakh has been collected.

Several steps have been taken for the disabled. This year, 50 visually impaired meritorious students were given a total of Taka four lakh grants (Taka 8,000 each) and certificates of appreciation from the National Disability Development Foundation.

A total of 691,450 therapeutic (early interventions) equipments were provided free of cost through 103 disability service and assistance centers across the country.