Bangladesh committed to ensuring healthcare for all mothers, children: Rokeya Sultana

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has been working relentlessly to ensure health and wellbeing of all mothers and children across the country by achieving SDGs and fulfilling the objectives of the landmark International Conference on Population and Development Programme of Action (ICPD POA), said State Minister for Health and Family Welfare Dr Rokeya Sultana.

The state minister spoke at the 57th Session of the UN Commission on Population and Development, convened in New York from 29 April to 3 May.

In her national statement, the state minister provided information on the initiatives taken by the Government of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the areas of maternal and neonatal health, family planning and adolescents health and wellbeing, among others.

"The government has established 5500 health and family welfare centers at the Union level to reach every mother and child of our country. To provide 24/7 services to pregnant women, we are planning to deploy 4 midwives in each of those centers. The government is currently in the process of increasing the total number of midwives to 20,000 by next two years." she added.

The state minister also referred to the National Adolescent Health Strategy for 2017-2030 which is being implemented through a National Plan of Action. We have taken legal and policy measures to end child marriage and violence against women and girls. She also announced an initiative of the government to distribute free sanitary napkins to 5 million girls from 6th grade to 12th grade.

The state minister also highlighted the achievements of Bangladesh in reducing maternal mortality and birth rate, improving health governance and infrastructure including by developing digital health information system, enhancing the quality and quality of health professionals, among others.

In her statement, the state minister called upon the international community to address capacity gaps in developing countries through enhanced international cooperation and partnerships.

The state minister also participated in UNFPA's signature side event focusing on maternal mortality where she shared Bangladesh's success story in reducing maternal morality by ensuring adequate and trained midwives in every corner of the country. She also participated in another side event organized by South Africa. UNFPA and PPD on South-South cooperation for implementation of ICPD Programme of Action.

In addition to that, the state minister held bilateral meetings with the UK Vice Minister for Development Cooperation, Regional Representative of UNFPA for Asia Pacific and also attended a roundtable organized by the Vice Minister of Netherlands on ICPD-30 global dialogues. 

The theme of this year's CPD session is assessing the status of implementation of the ICPD POA and its contribution to the follow-up and review of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development during the decade of action and delivery for sustainable development.

To mark the 30th anniversary of ICPD POA Bangladesh is hosting a Global Dialogue on demographic diversity and sustainable development in Dhaka from 15-16 May 2024.