Combating Covid: Bangladesh fared better than Sweden, India
Bangladesh has performed better than Sweden and India in combating Covid-19, UNFPA Country Representative Dr Asa Torkelsson yesterday said.
Asa, a Swedish citizen, said this during a farewell meeting with Planning Minister MA Mannan at his office.
She has discharged her duty as UNFPA country representative for the last four and half years, Mannan told journalists after the meeting.
"Dr Asa said Bangladesh has a population at least 20 times bigger than Sweden but the death rates of both countries are almost the same," he said.
People of Bangladesh have responded well to vaccination, Asa said, adding that many citizens of several countries around the world, including the US, are refusing vaccination.
"On the contrary, people of Bangladesh have shown keen interest in taking jabs."
Bangladesh is an example in economic recovery, she said, adding that the country's economy came to a standstill due to the pandemic, but has now gone back to its pre-Covid condition.
"The standstill, which was seen even six months ago, is not evident now as dynamism has been infused in economic activities," Mannan said quoting Asa as saying.
Asa also assured the minister that the operations of the UNFPA would increase in Bangladesh in the coming days and it will give more emphasis on education and research activities.
Responding to concerns expressed by the UNFPA representative over the prevalence of child marriage, Mannan informed her that the government has been making strong efforts to curb it.
"Hopefully the incidents of such marriages would come down in the coming days," he added.
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