DHAKA, Dec 12, 2020 (BSS) – State Minister for Women and Children Affairs Fazilatun Nesa Indira today said the government is working to ensure proper physical, cognitive and social development of children.
“The government led by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is implementing various initiatives including feeding programme and providing healthcare facilities to build a talented nation,” she said.
She was speaking as the chief guest at the inaugural function of a two-day national ECD conference organized by Bangladesh Early Childhood Development Network (BEN) at the Bangladesh Shishu Academy auditorium in the city, said an official release.
The ministry has launched a mother and child support programme to ensure maternal and child nutrition during pregnancy. The ‘Integrated Policy for Early Child Care and Development-2013’ is being implemented giving emphasis on the first 1000 days of a child’s birth, she said.
“The achievement of reducing infant and maternal mortality rate and expansion of primary education are being lauded worldwide. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has been awarded the MDG Award, the Tree of Peace Award, the two-time South-South Award and the Vaccine Hero Award,” she added.
The state minister further said the maternity allowance programme for 770,000 poor mothers and lactating mother allowance for 275,000 working mothers are being implemented. Fifteen ministries are implementing the programme involving Taka 80,000 crore for the development of children.
ECD Network President Manjur Ahmed presided over the function while Rasheda K Chowdhury, Executive Director of CAMPE and Tamo Hojomi representative of UNICEF Bangladesh spoke as special guests. The main article was presented by Syeda Sajia Zaman.
The two-day conference will feature six different plenary sessions on child nutrition, health, education and safety. The theme of this year’s conference is ‘Early Childhood Care and Development in the Time of Covid-19 and Beyond’.