Initial WB aid to uprising injured: Over 5,000 students to receive Tk 0.1m each

Over 5,000 students severely injured in the July-August mass uprising in Bangladesh will receive over Tk 100,000 each in cash transfer from the World Bank for their medical treatment and livelihood restoration, said officials.

The multilateral lender has agreed to provide $5.0 million, worth approximately Tk 610 million, under the existing 'Cash Transfer Modernisation' project, which has been implemented since 2018, the Economic Relations Division (ERD) officials said.

The Ministry of Social Welfare has proposed to the Planning Commission to extend the project by another six months, until September this year, to fully utilise the WB support, which was scheduled for completion this March.

According to a letter from the ministry to the Planning Commission, the ERD had earlier proposed extending the project tenure by 13 months, but the World Bank approved only six months.

In a restructuring paper, the World Bank states that the July-August 2024 mass uprising was marked by significant violence affecting thousands of individuals. The crisis led to overcrowding in healthcare facilities, which were further impacted by attacks and a limited workforce, resulting in inadequate emergency care.

"Many injuries sustained during the crisis have led to severe disabilities, such as eyesight damage and loss of limbs, necessitating extensive surgical procedures and long-term care," reveals the WB paper.

The officials of the Department of Social Services (DSS), the implementing agency of the project, have said the government is in the process of collecting data on casualties and injured persons.

Resources are being mobilised to provide medical and financial assistance to those now facing physical and economic vulnerabilities and a request was sent to the World Bank primarily to redress the economic distress of the injured students.

Information on prospective beneficiaries will be collected by the DSS through its online platform, which has been active since last October, said officials.

All data will be administered by the Integrated Social Protection Management Information System (ISPMIS), while data verification will be carried out using the national identification (NID) database and the birth registration information system (BRIS).

A DSS official says cash transfers to injured persons under the project will be made directly through the banking system to the mobile money or commercial bank accounts of the target recipients. Sources in the planning commission have said the project was approved in October 2018 with an estimated cost of Tk 2.14 billion based on loan support worth Tk 2.11 billion from the World Bank.

Despite the project having a target to be completed by June 2023, the tenure was expanded to March 2025 through its first revision. The cost of the project increased to Tk 2.95 billion, with WB support of Tk 2.87 billion.

The proposal of the Ministry of Social Welfare reveals that the main activities of the project were initiated two years after the approval due to an initial delay regarding appointing Project Director and other officials, which delayed the implementation.

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