Social Welfare and Women and Children Affairs Minister Professor Dr A Z M Zahid Hossain, MP, spoke today as the chief guest at a pre-budget dialogue held at a hotel in the capital. Photo: PID

DHAKA, May 18, 2026 (BSS) - Social Welfare and Women and Children Affairs Minister Professor Dr A Z M Zahid Hossain, MP today said the upcoming budget would be a budget for building a humane Bangladesh.

“Not leaving anyone behind, the present government is working to build a humane and inclusive Bangladesh involving everyone,” he said.

The minister said this while speaking as the chief guest at a pre-budget dialogue titled “National Budget 2026-27: Political Commitments and Citizens’ Expectations”, organised by CPD at Lakeshore Hotel in Gulshan in the capital this afternoon, according to a ministry release.

The minister said the Ministry of Social Welfare has taken a plan to provide direct financial assistance to nearly 40.20 lakh families by June 30, 2027 through the Family Card programme.

He said the programme would be operated completely through an NID-based digital system and money would directly reach beneficiaries’ bank accounts without any middlemen.

Zahid Hossain said the Ministry of Social Welfare has undertaken various programmes for rehabilitation of persons with disabilities, ethnic minority communities, people engaged in begging, improvement of the living standards of the hijra community, Dalit, Harijan and Bede communities, and protection of tea workers, children and women.

He said OMS and food-friendly programmes are continuing to eradicate poverty and ensure food security for low-income people, while rice distribution activities for distressed women are also continuing under the Vulnerable Women Benefit programme.

The minister further said the government wants to ensure agricultural input support, supply of crop seeds, crop insurance and agricultural loan facilities for farmers through the Farmer Card programme.

He also reiterated the government’s commitment to implementing various programmes to create employment opportunities, particularly for women and backward communities, through skill development programmes.

The minister stressed that the government believes in inclusive development and its goal is to move forward by taking everyone together without leaving anyone behind.

The dialogue was held in the capital today under the initiative of Citizen’s Platform for SDGs, Bangladesh.

Members of parliament, representatives of different ministries, economists, researchers, representatives of the private sector and leaders of civil society participated in the dialogue.

Mahmuda Habib, MP, Md Saiful Alam Kham Milon, MP, and Social Welfare Secretary Dr Mohammad Abu Yusuf, among others, also spoke. 

Towfiqul Islam Khan, additional research director of CPD, presented the keynote paper at the dialogue.

Various important recommendations were presented at the dialogue to make the upcoming national budget more people-oriented, efficient, inclusive and equitable.