Govt must allocate resources

The government should find out the amount of resources needed for child welfare and allocate accordingly in the national budget, said speakers at a views-exchange meeting yesterday.

In the current fiscal year, the government allocated an inadequate amount of Tk 50 crore for child welfare, but did not evaluate how much resources are actually needed for this, they added.

The discussion was organised by Child Budget Forum, a platform of several NGOs, which was launched through the programme held at The Daily Star Centre in the capital. 

Opportunities should be created for children to give their opinions, while formulating the national budget, said Dr Abul Hossain, chairperson of the platform.

Asserting that poverty and discrimination of children are the major hurdles to the country's development, he said ensuring the rights of children and equal opportunities for all children are the keys to becoming a middle-income country.

Chowdhury Md Tayub Tajammul, senior manager (civil society) of Save the Children, said, “Besides providing a block allocation for children, the authorities concerned should also publish a performance report on the programmes funded from the allocated money.”

Mahbubul Islam, executive director of the Bangladesh Association for Community Education, hailed the government for initiatives like framing the National Child Policy 2011 and enacting the Child Act 2013.

Md Shahidullah, member secretary of Child Budget Forum, and Sharifuzzaman, member of Nagorik Sanghati, among others, spoke at the event.

Incidin Bangladesh, National Children Task Force, and Save the Children are some of the NGOs under the platform.