DHAKA, 10, 2012: The government has targeted to reduce extreme poverty rate to 25 percent by 2013 and 15 percent by 2021 from the existing 31.5 percent through continual implementation of different poverty alleviation and social safety net programmes in a more effective way across the country.

To implement the target, the cabinet on Monday approved some suggestions of the Central Monitoring Committee on Poverty Alleviation and Social Safety Net Programmes.

Cabinet Secretary M Musharraf Hossain Bhuiyan placed a report on “Poverty Alleviation and Social Safety Net Programmes” at the cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. The Awami League government took the initiative in this regard.

Allocation for the programmes was 14.85 percent of the total budget in 2010-11FY under which a total of 99 programmes were implemented, the report says.

Mosharraf proposed a five-point recommendation to effectively implement the social safety net programmes and other initiatives to alleviate poverty in the country.

The recommendations are formation of a comprehensive social safety network strategy, prepare a database on the overall social safety net programmes and a list of the beneficiaries, increasing involvement of implementing organisations, evaluation of the programmes after a certain period, and expansion and implementation of school feeding and national nutrition programmes.

Briefing newsmen, the cabinet secretary said over 24.74 crore people are getting benefits from the social safety net programmes and the number of beneficiaries is higher than that of the total population of the country as some of them are getting benefits from more than one programmes.

With the implementation of the social safety net programmes, the maternal and infant mortality rates have come down, the prices of food grains become stable, enrolment, presence and pass percentage of children in schools have increased apart from increased farm output and food security, according to the findings of the report.

Besides, the reports says, the programme also helped solve famine like situation in the country’s northern region, enhance rural employments and improve the living standard of people, raise financial and social status of women and turn the youth into responsible, confident and skilled human resources.