Child-focused budget from next fiscal: Muhith

Finance Minister AMA Muhith yesterday hoped that a child-focused budget would be incorporated in the next national budget to ensure investment for the equitable rights of children.
He said if he had the child-focused budgeting framework before the national budget for the current fiscal he would have made an attempt to include it in this budget.
Muhith was addressing a function marking the launching of “Child-Focused Budgeting Framework: Investing for Equitable Rights of Children in Bangladesh” by Unicef in partnership with the government of Bangladesh and Policy Research Institute (PRI) at a hotel in the capital.
State Minister for Primary and Mass Education Md Motahar Hossain, State Minister for Women and Children Affairs Meher Afroze Chumki, and Unicef Bangladesh Representative Pascal Villeneuve, among others, spoke.
PRI Vice Chairman Sadiq Ahmed made a presentation on the child-focused budgeting framework.
The framework is a product of a collaborative effort among the Ministry of Women and Children's Affairs, Ministry of Finance, and nine social sector ministries, Unicef and PRI.
Motahar said the current budget allocation for children was below 5 percent and it should be raised to 20 percent of the total allocation.
Meher Afroze stressed institutionalising the child-focused budgetary framework in the national budgetary system and setting up a national directory to address issues like child trafficking, child abusing and sexual harassment.
Pascal Villeneuve said investment in the 57 million children that currently made up over 40 percent of Bangladesh's population but account for all of its future must be a continuing priority.