The focus of the social safety net programs has changed over the last two decades, and the pension for retired government employees and their families has clearly emerged as the number one area of social safety net expenditure. However, overall, the spending remains responsive to poverty, vulnerability and to unexpected shocks such as COVID-19 pandemic

The composition of social safety net programs includes both cash and in-kind transfers. Expenditures on pension for retired government employees and their families have emerged as the largest component of the cash transfer, while programs such as vulnerable group feeding (VGF) and vulnerable group development (VGD) have remained important in in-kind transfer to poor individuals and households