‘Media’s role was key to improve situation’

The media played a key role in strengthening family planning, sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), and maternal health services in Bangladesh, especially during the pandemic, said speakers at a dissemination workshop yesterday.

A strategic partnership developed between Advance Family Planning (AFP) and media houses at national and subnational levels increased the visibility of family planning through the publication of more than 210 articles, they said.

They made the remarks at the workshop, titled "Strengthening Family Planning through Advocacy: Learnings and Opportunities", organised by Marie Stopes Bangladesh (MSB), in association with AFP and Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, at a city hotel.

Pulak Raha, chief executive officer of Team Associates, said AFP Bangladesh partnered with the media to influence policies and decision-makers and support government accountability.

Nilima Jahan, staff reporter of The Daily Star, attended the event as a panellist and shared her experience regarding how her reportage on maternal, child health, family planning and SRHR issues brought a concrete change in policies and helped women and girls from underprivileged communities.

"Last year, when the delta variant of the coronavirus was affecting more and more pregnant women, one of my reports on the need for their vaccination was read out at the High Court by Justice Enayetur Rahim, who asked the government to include expecting mothers in the Surokkha App within 72 hours," she said.

"After the report, within a few hours, the decision of vaccinating pregnant women was finalised by the government, and mothers-to-be became a priority group to be vaccinated. They did not even have to stand in the long queues," she added.

Diner Sultana, senior reporter of BTV, shared how her reportage on the reproductive health of girls who were married off early due to the pandemic successfully drew the attention of the government.

Md Saiful Hassan Badal, secretary of Medical Education and Family Welfare Division, joined the event virtually.

"We need to work on the unmet needs of women and girls from underprivileged communities. Public and private partnership is required to address their demand," he said.

"During the last census, we found that more than five crore people live in eight city corporations, but we are not being able to address their needs properly. We should not leave behind the underprivileged people from these areas, in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)," he added.

Monjun Nahar, head of advocacy at MSB, presented the organisation's evidence-based advocacy in Bangladesh through a video and recommended prioritising family planning issues with a focus on Bangladesh's Family Planning 2030 and SDG 2030 goals.

She also stressed on implementing a geographically targeted service package for low-performing regions -- mainly upazilas, char and coastal areas.

Kishwar Imdad, country director of MSB; Abdus Salam Khan, joint secretary, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare; Mervyn Christian, AFP senior programme officer; Dr Nurun Nahar, line director of Directorate General of Family Planning; and Ainoon Naher, professor of anthropology of Jahangirnagar University, spoke at the workshop among others.