WORLD Population Day was observed in the country on Monday with the initiative of UN Population Fund (UNFPA). This year’s theme was ‘investing in teenage girls’. Speaking on the occasion UNFPA representative in Bangladesh Argentina Matavel Piccin said, investment in health and education of teenage girls can multiply the future development benefits and protect women from pervasive abuse and violence. She said, “if you let her study, she can contribute much better to the economy, she can choose when to have children, how many and if to have them at all. She can be part of that human capital that the country so much needs.”According to National Institution for Population Research and Training (NIPORT) Bangladesh’s total population this year stood at 161 million including 33 million adolescents. It means 20.5 percent of total population are adolescent. So we can count that the number of adolescent girls are around 16.5 million. As per disclosure there are around 4.0 million married adolescent girls in the country. Government provides health care for them as married, pregnant and mother. But no such service is available for adolescent boys and adolescent unmarried girls. So, around 29 million adolescent boys and girls are not getting even minimum health care service. Health and Family Planning Directorate run two services for adolescent girls and boys. Cost of these two services are only 2.5 crore per annum. It means for health care of 29 million adolescents the government is spending 86 paisa per head per year. Though unbelievable, it is a crude reality.Adolescents need more information than care regarding health. Their physical and mental growth tends to make them emotional and adventurous, when their maturity yet to be achieved. So they need extra care to avoid any wrong step. They are the source of hope and aspiration for families and the whole nation. If they grow perfectly with healthy body and mind, the nation will enjoy its benefit. So a sense of neglect and careless attitude to them should be transformed into effective support of their every health service needs by all means.
