The United Nations Children's Fund on Sunday said a large number of poor children remain out of reach of welfare enhancing programmes targeted for their development and urged the government to increase direct budgetary allocation for child related initiatives.
'If development issues affecting children are not adequately addressed in a timely manner, children will be denied the
opportunity to develop and reach their full potential, and the country will
be unable to break
the inter-generational poverty cycle and achieve the millennium development goals with equity,' said a report jointly
prepared by UNICEF and the Centre for Policy Dialogue.
The report titled 'National Budget: Are the commitments to the children of Bangladesh being kept' was unveiled at a national seminar at Hotel Sonargaon.
Finance minister Abul Maal Abdul Muhith, women and children affairs state minister Shirin Sharmin Chowdhury, UNICEF representative Carel de Rooy, former caretaker government advisor Wahiuddin Mahmud, Bangladesh Economic Association president Abul Barakat, CPD executive director Mustafizur Rahman and UNICEF child rights advocate Jewel Aich, among others, were present on the occasion.
Twenty children, representing different status of the society, who present UNICEF-sponsored talk show 'Our Voice' on Bangladesh Television, were also present at the function.
Presenting the report, CPD additional director and head of research Fahmida Khatun said the study report was not updated after the newly proposed budget for 2011-12 fiscal and was based on analyses of budgets from 2005-06 fiscal to 2010-11 fiscal year.
The study that measured child deprivation using seven indicators — shelter, sanitation, water, information, food, education and health — found that
deprivation varied between rural and urban areas, and high deprivation is
mainly concentrated in Chittagong and Sylhet
divisions and in the tribal areas of Chittagong Hill Tracts.
The report estimated that the total budget allocated for children, including allocations for children's social safety net programmes, amounted to mere 4.1 per cent of the national budget for 2010-11 and was equivalent to 0.7 per cent of the GDP. Bangladesh is home of 66 million children, consisting 45 per cent of the country's total population.
The recommendations in the report called for enhancing coordination action between different ministries responsible for the budget allocation and strong political commitment for children friendly budget.
Finance minister Abul Maal Abdul Muhith criticised the report and said most of the recommendations have been addressed in the proposed budget for 2011-12.
However, admitting little initiatives for the slum children, he assured to address the segment.
State minister Shirin Sharmin Chowdhury handed over gifts among the children representatives present at the function.
Source : New Age
