Private sector urged to help achieve MDGs

Speakers at a discussion yesterday urged private sector entrepreneurs to extend their support to the government's initiatives to help them achieve all the millennium development goals (MDGs) of the country.
It is quite impossible for the government alone to achieve the targets within the set timeframe, Chairman of Unnayan Samunnay Atiar Rahman said at the meeting.
Unnayan Samunnay in association with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and Institute of Business Administration (IBA), Department of Development Studies and Department of Marketing at the Dhaka University organised the discussion on 'Achieving Millennium Development Goals' at the seminar room of the IBA.
Atiar, a renowned economist, said some multinational companies have already started some social programmes as part of their corporate social responsibilities (CSR) practices. But several local industrial groups expand their business activities to many sectors, but do little for the development of the society.
He said local corporate houses should also join hands to help achieve targets in the sectors of education, health and environment issues of the MDGs.
Bangladesh has already displayed acceleration in per capita income growth, reduction in population growth, decrease in child mortality, improvements in child nutrition, expansion of primary and secondary education and reduction of gender inequality in education.
But the above-mentioned success stories are running the risk of slippage, he said, requesting all to cooperate with the government to sustain them.
Tayiubur Rahman, chairman of the Department of Development Studies, presided over the discussion where Harun-ur-Rashid, dean of the Social Sciences Faculty of Dhaka University, attended as chief guest.
KAM Morshed, assistant country director of UNDP, Khaleda Rosi, research fellow at the Centre for Policy Dialogue, and Golam Sarwar from the Department of Marketing of Dhaka University also spoke on the occasion.