RAPID Monthly Newsletter || April 2025
RAPID Monthly Newsletter || May 2025
Developing a Roadmap for the National Social Insurance Scheme (NSIS) in Bangladesh
Contents
About the project
Partner: International Labour Organization (ILO)Project duration: 27 May 2025 – 26 November 2025
Bangladesh’s social protection system is evolving under the National Social Security Strategy (NSSS), introduced in 2015, with action plans for 2015–2020 and 2021–2025, supported by UNDP. The NSSS promotes a life-cycle and universal coverage approach, coordinated by the Cabinet Division and monitored by the General Economics Division. A National Social Insurance Scheme (NSIS) was proposed under NSSS, focusing on unemployment, injury, maternity, and sickness insurance, with the Ministry of Finance responsible for its development. However, progress has been slow, and instead, a Universal Pension Scheme was launched in 2023. To advance NSIS, ILO and UNDP are collaborating to create a roadmap through consultations with government ministries, employers, and workers' organizations. The project aims to build capacity among stakeholders and develop an implementation strategy, supported by an actuarial or costing study. This will inform training and policy dialogues, helping integrate social insurance into Bangladesh’s broader social protection system.
Scope of Work Summary for NSIS Roadmap Consultancy:
Roadmap Review & Analysis:
- Conduct desk review of NSSS, relevant policies, and frameworks.
- Analyse international best practices in social insurance and assess relevance to Bangladesh.
- Collect legal and statistical data for an actuarial study or costing exercise.
- Facilitate consultations with five key stakeholder groups: Two government ministries, employers, workers, and development partners.
- Collect input on challenges and expectations for NSIS.
- Draft a comprehensive roadmap with steps, timelines, and milestones for NSIS implementation.
- Recommend institutional structures, financing, and legal frameworks aligned with international standards and national goals.
- Organise two workshops (one-day and two-day residential) to share knowledge and present the draft roadmap.
- Provide capacity-building recommendations.
- Revise and finalise the roadmap incorporating stakeholder feedback.
- Submit a detailed implementation strategy with actionable steps.
Project activities
National Consultation: Towards a sickness insurance scheme for the working-age population in Bangladesh
On 23 September 2025, The Ministry of Labour and Employment (MoLE) and the International Labour Organization (ILO), with support from UNDP and DFAT, convened the National Consultation on ‘Towards a Sickness Insurance Scheme for the Working-Age Population in Bangladesh,’ which was co-organised by RAPID as ILO’s knowledge partner.
Dr M Abu Eusuf, RAPID Executive Director, moderated the session, and Dr M A Razzaque, Chairman, RAPID, delivered the keynote presentation. We were honoured by the presence of Dr Md Sanwar Jahan Bhuiyan, Secretary of the Ministry of Labour and Employment, who attended the consultation as Chief Guest. The proceedings were chaired by Mr Abdus Samad Al Azad, Joint Secretary and Head of the Social Security Unit, MoLE. The event concluded with closing remarks delivered by Mr Max Tunon, ILO Country Director for Bangladesh.
The consultation brought together representatives from government, workers, employers, development partners, and civil society organisations. The speakers emphasised that building public trust, ensuring government commitment, and improving healthcare quality are essential for a credible sickness insurance scheme. Both workers’ and employers’ representatives highlighted the need for practical design, awareness, and strong institutions to make the scheme effective.
Workshop: Institutional Governance Mechanisms for developing the Roadmap of National Social Insurance Scheme (NSIS) in Bangladesh
On 05–07 August 2025, Research and Policy Integration for Development (RAPID), in collaboration with the Ministry of Labour and Employment (MoLE) and the International Labour Organization (ILO), and with funding support from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) of the Government of Australia, organised a workshop on Institutional Governance Mechanisms for developing the Roadmap of National Social Insurance Scheme (NSIS) in Bangladesh.
RAPID Chairman Dr M A Razzaque delivered the presentation on ‘Institutional Governance of Social Protection in Bangladesh’. The workshop featured Mr A H M Shafiquzzaman, Secretary of the Ministry of Labour and Employment, as Chief Guest.
Presentations were also delivered by Ms Ouchi Mariko, Senior Social Security Specialist at ILO/DWT-New Delhi; Mr Simon Brimblecombe, Chief Technical Adviser and Head of Regional Actuarial Services at the ILO in Bangkok; and Mr Indrajid Nurmukti, ISSA Regional Coordinator (Lead) for Asia and the Pacific.
The workshop was attended by representatives from the Ministry of Labour and Employment, workers’ associations, employers’ associations, development partners, and civil society organizations (CSOs).
Workshop: Developing a Roadmap for the Maternity Insurance Scheme in Bangladesh.
On 14–15 July 2025, Research and Policy Integration for Development (RAPID), in collaboration with the Ministry of Labour and Employment (MoLE) and the International Labour Organization (ILO), and with funding support from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) of the Government of Australia, organised a workshop on developing a roadmap for the Maternity Insurance Scheme in Bangladesh. RAPID Chairman Dr M A Razzaque delivered the opening presentation. The workshop featured Mr A H M Shafiquzzaman, Secretary of the Ministry of Labour and Employment, as Chief Guest. Ms Ouchi Mariko, Senior Social Security Specialist at ILO/DWT-New Delhi, presented the proposed maternity insurance roadmap under the National Social Insurance Scheme (NSIS).
