The Role of Social Assistance and Social Protection Programs in Bangladesh: A Historical Analysis of Disaster Response and Climate Resilience (1971–2020)

Bangladesh is one of the world’s most disaster-prone countries has experienced frequent cyclones and flooding as well as climate shocks that endanger the livelihood of millions. The Government has launched a range of social protection programs in partnership with international agencies and NGOs, which have proven to be a valuable investment in the prevention of vulnerabilities, disaster preparedness and resilience building among the vulnerable. This paper contributes to assessing the effectiveness of disaster response and long-term recovery by analyzing the historical evolution of mechanisms from 1971–2020. The paper evaluates targeted assistance and employment programs, cash transfers, and food security interventions by extracting case studies on Cyclone Sidr (2007), the 2017 floods, and Cyclone Amphan (2020) and examine which ones were beneficial for affected populations in recovery. There has been good progress and promising practice around the integration of disaster risk reduction within the scope of social protection though coverage and funding gaps and operational bottlenecks exist. The findings highlight the need for adaptive, shock-responsive social safety nets, and make a series of suggestions for policy improvements to make Bangladesh better prepared for climate-induced disasters in the future.