Describing the children as the future of the country, President Abdul Hamid on Monday urged all concerned to help the children groom as worthy citizens for building a peaceful, prosperous and livable Bangladesh for all.
“The children are the future of the country . . . grooming them as worthy citizens is important because they will lead the world in future,” said the President while addressing the opening ceremony of the World Children’s Day and Child Rights Week 2014.
State minister for women and children affairs Meher Afroz Chumki chaired the ceremony while chairman of Bangladesh Shishu Academy Selina Hossain, UNICEF representative Pascal Villeneuve and secretary of women and children affairs ministry Tariq-Ul-Islam, among others, spoke on the occasion.
The theme of this year’s World Children’s Day and Child Rights Week 2014 is “The fundamental of children’s rights is their safety-security”.
The President said the highest priority will be given to ensuring rights and security of the children so that they could be groomed with knowledge of science and in a society of free thinking and spirit. Father of the nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman had taken various initiatives for development of children with a view to building a happy and prosperous Bangladesh.
Under the direct guidance of Banganandhu, the Children Act in 1974 was formulated to protect the rights of children and ensure welfare of all deprived children, he added.
Abdul Hamid said the present government has been implementing various programmes for poverty alleviation of children and ensuring their nutrition, education, health, entertainment, culture and protecting them during disaster and post-disaster situation.
The government has also taken steps to ensure pre-primary education for the healthy growth of children, he said, adding that implementation of multiple programmes is going on for building the girl children as educated and skilled manpower.
He said the government has also been implementing different programmes for physically-mentally retarded and autistic children. The government has framed a law to prevent marriage of adolescent girls especially in the rural area, he said, adding that besides, steps have also been taken under ‘Vision 2021’ to give children computer training aiming at creating their interest to information technology.
“The main objective of these programmes is to build a prosperous future of the nation through ensuring equal opportunity and rights of all children,” said the President.
Abdul Hamid said commendable success has been achieved in child protection and mortality as child mortality rate came down to 43 per 1000 in 2013 from 146 in 1990. Remarkable improvement has taken place in the birth of underweight children, he said, adding that the rate of birth of underweight children fell down to 3.6 percent in 2011 from 66 percent in 1991.
The President said the government’s initiatives are not enough to ensure overall development of children. The roles of parents, families, state and all in the society are important in building a friendly environment for children, he said, adding that the world leaders will have to take steps to protect children and women from all natural and man-made disasters.
