Adequate budget must for children

Adequate budgetary allocation for the underprivileged children and proper utilisation of the fund is a must for ensuring equal rights and opportunities for all children, speakers told a roundtable yesterday.

The discussion titled "Creating equal opportunities for all children" was organised by Bangla daily the Prothom Alo at its office in the capital.

State Minister for Women and Children Affairs Meher Afroze Chumki said a project was approved yesterday at a meeting of Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (Ecnec) for construction of 20 day-care centres in the country. She urged the government and non-government organisations to work together to ensure equal rights and opportunities for the children.

Addressing the discussion, Edouard Beigbeder, Unicef representative in Bangladesh, said, "Globally, the infant mortality rate in 1990 was 98 percent and 43 percent in 2015. In Bangladesh, the infant mortality rate was 144 percent in 1990, which declined to 48 percent in 2015. It is indeed a good sign for Bangladesh."

Shafikul Islam, director of education unit in Brac, opined, "We should give priority to the children below five years of age in any policy making."

Sultana Kamal, director of Ain and Salish; Prof MM Akash of Dhaka University; Samsul Alam, deputy director of Save the Children, also spoke.