RANGPUR, July 19, 2017 (BSS) – Experts at a workshop here have stressed on comprehensive GO-NGO-private sector collaboration and effective network to ensure sustainable livelihoods, nutrition and dignity of poor and marginalised people.
They came up with the view at the ‘Civic Engagement Alliance Programme’ inception workshop organised by ICCO Cooperation at Begum Rokeya auditorium of RDRS Bangladesh here on Tuesday.
Consortium Members including ‘Nijera Kori’, Civil Society Alliance (CSA) for Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) extended assistance to ICCO Cooperation in arranging the event.
The programme is being implemented in Rangpur, Nilphamari, Lalmonirhat, Gaibandha and Thakurgaon districts.
The main objectives of the programme are to ensure rights of landless people on ‘Khas’ lands, water bodies and local resources, nutrition of unprivileged children and pregnant women, empowerment of marginalised farmers and creating inclusive cooperative marketing system for farm products.
Seventy divisional and district level government officials of the health, family planning, agriculture and livestock departments, members of CSA for SUB and local service providers, business community leaders, members of different farm product producing organisations, civil society members and journalists participated.
With Country Representative of ICCO Cooperation Ms Tessa Schmelzer for South and Central Asia Region in the chair, Divisional Director (Health) Dr Mozammel Hossain attended the workshop as the chief guest.
In her welcome speech, Tessa Schmelzer narrated about the activities being conducted by ICCO Cooperation under the Civic Engagement Programmes in Bangladesh, South and Central Asia Region as well as the globe as a whole.
Three PowerPoint presentations (Pathways) were delivered on ‘Establishing Rights of Landless People on Khas Land and Rights of Workers on Labour’ by Coordinator of ‘Nijera Kori’ Miss Munni Mri, on ‘Nutritional demand of unprivileged people, children and pregnant women’ by Programme Manager of CSA for SUN Mansur Parvez Chowdhury and on ‘Small producer empowerment and inclusive marketing’ jointly by Filed Coordinator of Helvetas Swiss Interoperation Nurul Islam and Ziptha Boiragi of Leprosy Mission Bangladesh.
Divisional Deputy Director of the Livestock Department Dr Mahbubur Rahman, Assistant Divisional Director (Health) Dr Mahbub Hassan, Deputy Directors of the Department of Agriculture Extension SM Ashraf Ali and Md Moniruzzaman, Civil Surgeon Dr Abu Md Zakirul Islam, Deputy Director of the Family Planning Department Dewan Morshed Khan and Afroza Begum, addressed as special guests.
Taking part in open discussion, consortium members, GO-NGO officials and participants forwarded suggestions with commitments for successful implementation of the four-year term (2017-2020) term civic alliance programme in their respective fields.