The World Bank has approved an additional $245 million to help Bangladesh improve equity, efficiency and transparency in major safety net programmes.

The financing to the ongoing Safety Net Systems for the Poorest Project will benefit nine million of the poorest households, according to a statement.

It will help improve performance of some of the country's largest safety net schemes, which are implemented by the Department of Disaster Management.

These schemes include public workfare and humanitarian assistance programmes. 

"In FY2017, Bangladesh spent around $3.5 billion on social protection, which is about 1.4 percent of its gross domestic product," said Rajashree Paralkar, operations manager of the WB.

"By effectively identifying poor households and administering the safety net programmes, the government will continue to reduce poverty and ensure effective use of public resources." To help streamline safety net programme administration, the project is helping to build common platforms for improved beneficiary targeting, information management and digital payment.

The financing will support the Department of Disaster Management to roll out a management information system to administer beneficiary records and programme processes, as well as expand digital payment to beneficiaries with greater efficiency and transparency, the WB said.

It will also support the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics in completing the country's first universal poverty registry -- the National Household Database -- which will be integrated with external information systems, allowing various ministries and agencies to use its data for more equitable beneficiary selection.

"The Department of Disaster Management will build upon ongoing efforts to strengthen implementation of its safety net programmes," said Ashiq Aziz, task team leader of the WB. "The additional financing will support establishment of an integrated social protection service delivery system envisioned in the National Social Security Strategy."

With the additional financing, the WB's total commitment to the project stands at $745 million. The project is expected to be completed in June 2019.

The credit is from International Development Association, the WB's concessional lending arm. The credits are interest-free, repayable in 38 years, including a six-year grace period, and carry a service charge of 0.75 percent.