Preventing child marriage in Bangladesh: Momen seeks help from UN agencies

Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen has requested UN agencies to assist Bangladesh government in curbing early marriages in Bangladesh.

He also expressed concern over the prevalence of early marriage and the high rate of birth in the poorer section of the population.

Momen made the requests when the newly appointed UNFPA Country Representative Kristine Blokhus and UN-Women Country Representative Gitanjali Singh presented their credentials while calling on the foreign minister separately today at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

He welcomed them to Bangladesh and expressed deep appreciation for the long-standing cooperation between the Bangladesh government and the two UN agencies in the socio-economic development of the country.

He also highlighted the sufferings of the people due to the ongoing flood situation in the country, and requested UN agencies' support in the mitigation of adverse effects of natural disasters.

He highlighted Bangladesh's success story in effectively combating the Covid-19 pandemic, underscoring the low number of deaths and the widespread vaccination programme despite initial difficulties.

He also recalled Bangladesh's commendable success in population control through public awareness building at the grassroots level without imposing any mandatory restrictions.

He sought UNFPA's support in undertaking a similar awareness programme among forcibly displaced Rohingyas in the camps in Bangladesh.

While meeting the UNFPA country representative, he also talked about Bangladesh's success in the health sector at grassroots level through community clinics.

With the UN-Women country representative, Foreign Minister Momen noted the unparalleled success Bangladesh has achieved in women empowerment under the visionary leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

Highlighting Bangladesh's success in significantly reducing maternal and child mortality, he called upon both UNFPA and UN-Women to continue assisting the government in this area.

He also requested both the UN agencies to remain responsible and proactive in discharging their respective responsibilities, and wished a successful tenure for both the country representatives.

Both the UN representatives -- Blokhus and Singh -- praised Bangladesh's admirable socio-economic progress in recent years, and expressed willingness to work with the government in further carrying forward the strong collaboration between Bangladesh and the UN system.