Bangladesh
Yunus for creating social business pharm companies to bring vaccines, medicines to common people
Nobel Laureate Professor Yunus has proposed creating social business pharmaceutical companies to bring vaccines and medicines to all people at affordable prices.
He came up with the proposal when he was invited to a parliamentary breakfast at the Bundestag (German Parliament) recently by Parliamentary Secretary of the Ministry of Education and Research, Mario Brandenburg.
He moderated the hour-long discussion during the breakfast. The breakfast was attended by 10 parliament members from diverse political parties.
Yunus was invited to speak on the current trend in rise in poverty, impact of pandemic on the low income people, impact of Ukrainian war, and the experiences of application of social business concept in addressing these issues.
Prof Yunus pleaded with the parliament members to support the campaign to make vaccine a common good by withdrawing intellectual property right, said the Yunus Centre in a media release on Sunday.
READ: Yunus for creating social business pharm companies to bring vaccines, medicines to common people
He highlighted the collapse of the global system in bringing vaccines to the people of low income countries.
Parliamentary Secretary Mario Brandenburg told the participants that he has already submitted a proposal in which he called for a greater governmental support for social business entrepreneurship. All MPs present acknowledged that entrepreneurially driven social business can go a long way in solving social problems.
Among the MPs present were Dr. Holger Becker (SPD), MP Frank Muller-Rosentritt (FDP), MP Sandra Bubendorfer-Licht (FDP), MP Volkmar Klein (CDU), MP Dr. Christiane Schenderlein (CDU), MP Alexander Radwan (CSU) and MP Canan Bayram (Bundnis 90/Die Grunen).
Professor Yunus is visiting Berlin to attend the tenth anniversary celebration of Yunus Social Business (YSB) a company created in Berlin ten years back to promote social businesses around the world. The company headed by Saskia Bruyesten operates in Brazil, India, Colombia, Uganda, Kenya and Rwanda help create social businesses in these countries. YSB has supported around 2070 social businesses in 5 countries with USD 18 million disbursed capital, creating employment of 1.3 million income earners and engaging atleast 17.8 million customers.
Tenth year celebration was held on June 2 attended by 150 people coming from all the countries where YSB operates, and supporters of YSB in Germany and other Europeans countries, corporate leaders, senior executives of YSBs in all countries where it operates, and media representatives. Yunus expressed his happiness that YSB which was initiated by two German young women fresh out of university in their late 20s with no funds, has reached so many people around the globe. YSB delegates shared their achievements and plans for the next decade.
Yunus left Berlin on June 3 for Trento, Italy to speak at the "Trento Festival of Economics", a global economic conference on social entrepreneurship for sustainable economic development.
Bangladesh a star of growth, says IFAD urging continued focus on rural areas
Terming Bangladesh a growth star in the region, Reehana Rifat Raza, the regional director of the Asia and Pacific Division at the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), has urged Bangladesh to keep the focus on rural development.
“The rural economy is very important. You know, that's where a large share of people lives. Despite having heavy urbanization, it's not a sustainable path in some sense. And we have to look at how we make rural areas attractive economic centers,” she told UNB in an interview.
The rural areas should be made 'attractive' for economic growth to keep the people resilient to different shocks both on climate change and poverty fronts, she said
The economist who visited Bangladesh recently, said their projects are doing very well and there is a real benefit on the ground as they do impact assessments.
She said the countries like Bangladesh which are moving towards the next level of development have a real challenge as they have a large number of populations that live in the rural areas.
“The real challenge is when the structural change happens, and it happens in all the economies as they develop. We move from agriculture to industry and to services,” Raza said, emphasizing that they need to think about looking at shifting people and see how they generate the income because agriculture no longer can serve as the primary means of livelihood.
Raza, who joined IFAD in May 2022 from the Urban Institute in Washington D.C., USA, said they are looking at resilience and offering multiple means of generating incomes and helping the people live in the rural areas as climate change is a big issue there.
Small-scale farmers produce one-third of the world’s food, but receive only 1.7 per cent of climate finance, according to the international financial institution and specialized United Nations agency based in Rome.
IFAD is stepping up its investments globally to build small-scale farmers’ long-term resilience to climate change by dedicating 40 per cent of its core resources to climate action over the next three years, up from 35 per cent (equivalent to US$1.2 billion) over the previous three-year period.
READ: It's a priority for IFAD to invest in Bangladesh, says its regional director
Responding to a question on the situation in Ukraine and its impact on food prices, Raza said these are very difficult times and she thinks in difficult times, it is the poorest of the poor, who struggle the most as the inflationary impact is huge.
“I think it's going to be a huge challenge and a huge challenge for organizations like the IFAD and others who work in these economies to work with the rural poor,” said the economist who visited activities implemented under IFAD’s Bangladesh portfolio.
It is composed of eight ongoing projects with a total investment of US$1.25 billion that includes $475 million of IFAD financing, making Bangladesh IFAD’s second-largest country programme overall.
“Bangladesh is very good at taking advantage of its allocation,” said the IFAD official.
Responding to a question on Bangladesh’s economic situation, she said, “I think Bangladesh is doing very well. We see that across the board in the region. I'm also from this region. We see Bangladesh as the start compared to the other countries at the moment.”
Raza said there is a sort of “sustainable” growth and it is “very inclusive growth” in Bangladesh. “And I think this is the real thing to really commend the government of Bangladesh.”
Responding to a question on Sri Lanka, Raza said, “I think you are the least vulnerable. I think in countries like Sri Lanka, and even in Pakistan, these are not just economic crises, but political crises as well.”
Explaining why Bangladesh seems less vulnerable, she said, “You have an inclusive growth and people are seeing the real change. The challenge often is when governments can't deliver. That becomes a big problem for the governments. And then once you add a macro-economic crisis to that, it becomes very complicated.”
The regional director was on a mission to Bangladesh recently, her first official visit to the region since she took up appointment on 9 May 2022.
She took the opportunity to personally praise the government of Bangladesh for pledging US$2 million to IFAD’s 2022-2024 replenishment cycle.
This is the highest amount that Bangladesh has pledged during its 42-year membership to the fund.
Raza who previously served as a Senior Economist at The World Bank also commended the robust implementing capacity of national partners, which has been key to the success of the large and complex development portfolio.
IFAD invests in rural people, empowering them to reduce poverty, increase food security, improve nutrition and strengthen resilience.
No JSC, JDC exams this year: Education Minister
Like the previous year, Junior School Certificate (JSC) and Junior Dakhil Certificate (JDC) examinations will not be held this year, said Education Minister Dipu Moni on Sunday.
“Students will be promoted to the next class on the basis of the results of final exams in their respective schools. However, they will receive a certificate from their respective Board of Education,” she told reporters at the secretariat.
READ: No JSC, JDC exams this year, says Edu Minister
She said an announcement about the inclusion of new educational institutions under the government's monthly payment order (MPO) will be made within a week.
The online application for MPO inclusion began on October 10, 2021.
A total of 90,000 teachers and employees of 8500 institutions are waiting for MPO registration.
Global Covid cases surpass 535 million
The overall number of Covid cases has surpassed 535 million amid a rise in new infections in parts of the world.
According to the latest global data, the total case count mounted to 535,171,130 while the death toll from the virus reached 6,319,945 on Sunday morning.
The US has recorded 86,503,057 cases so far and 1,033,571 people have died from the virus in the country, the data shows.
India's Covid-19 tally rose to 43,178,080 on Sunday morning, showed the health ministry's latest data.
Besides, 15 deaths from the pandemic registered across the country since Saturday morning took the total death toll to 524,692.
Situation in Bangladesh
Dhaka, June 3 (UNB) - Bangladesh registered 31 new Covid cases in 24 hours till Saturday morning taking the country's total caseload to 1,953,623.
The country's total fatalities remained unchanged at 29,131 as no death was reported during the period, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
The daily test positivity rate increased to 0.75 per cent from Friday’s 0.60 percent as 4,124 samples were tested.
The country on Thursday saw 29 cases with zero death.
The mortality rate remained unchanged at 1.49 percent. The recovery rate rose to 97.45 percent as 171 patients recovered during this period.
In May, the country reported only four Covid-linked deaths and 816 new cases, while 7,356 patients recovered from the disease, according to the DGHS.
Among the four deaths during the period, one was vaccinated with a single dose of Covid vaccine while three were vaccinated with two doses.
READ: Global Covid cases near 535 million
The country reported its first zero Covid death in a single day on November 20 last year, along with 178 cases, since the pandemic broke out here in March, 2020.
On January 28, Bangladesh logged its previous highest positivity rate of 33.37 per cent.
The country registered its highest daily caseload of 16,230 on July 28 last year and daily fatalities of 264 on August 10 in the same year.
Vaccination Campaign
A week-long booster dose campaign kicked off on Saturday, aiming to inoculate over one crore people across the country.
"The campaign began at 9am on Saturday. It will continue till June 10," said Dr Shamsul Haque, director of the Corona Vaccination Campaign of the Health Services Division.
The government has taken this initiative to cover over one crore people though nearly four crore citizens are waiting to get the booster dose, he said.
Alongside the booster dose campaign, the regular activities of administering Covid jabs are on.
PM shocked at loss of lives in Sitakunda fire
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Sunday expressed deep shock and sorrow at the loss of lives in a massive fire at BM Container Depot at Sitakunda in Chattogram.
She prayed for the eternal salvation of the departed soul and expressed sympathy to the bereaved family members.
She also directed the authorities concerned to provide necessary treatment to the injured victims.
READ: Ctg container depot fire: Death toll climbs to 18, over 200 injured
Massive fire at Ctg container depot: Death toll climbs to 49, over 200 injured
The death toll from the deadly fire at BM Container Depot at Sitakunda in Chattogram rose to 49, said fire service officials on Sunday.
"The death toll from the fire climbed to 49 and there were nine fire service members among the deceased,” said Anisur Rahman, deputy director of Fire Service and Civil Defense, while briefing reporters at Chattogram Medical College and Hospital (CMCH) over the brutal blaze.
Around 17 deceased were identified so far and, of them, the names of 15 people have been found.
They are, Mominul Haque, Mohiuddin, Habibur Rahman, Rabiul Alam, Tofail Islam, Faruk Jamaddar, Afzal Hossain, Md. Sumon, Md. Ibrahim, Harun Ur Rashid, Md. Nayan, Shahadat Hossain, Shakil Tarafdar, Shahadat Ullah Jamadar and fire service employee Moniruzzaman.
Besides, over 200 people suffered injuries.
Around 130 people are undergoing treatment at the burn unit of CMCH, said Anisur.
BUET holds preliminary admission test
The preliminary admission test of Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology(BUET) for academic session 2021-22 was held today.
Of all the applicants, 17034 students were allowed in the preliminary test against a total of 1279 seats of 12 departments under 5 faculties. The exam was held in two shifts.
"More than 95% students attended the test," a BUET press release said.
BUET Vice-Chancellor Dr Satya Prasad Majumdar and pro- Vice-Chancellor Prof. Abdul Jabbar Khan visited various centers during the exam. President of the Admission Committees and Dean of the Faculty of Civil Engineering Dr. Abu Siddique along with other teachers of BUET were also present at the time.
Also read: Advanced computing lab to be set up at Buet: Palak
Mass casualties feared following explosion in Sitakunda's BM Container Depot
A fire that broke out Saturday night following an explosion at BM Container Depot, an inland container depot in Chattrogram's Sitakunda, has left hundreds including fire service officials and policemen injured and is feared to have killed many.
Four people have already succumbed to their injuries, Panchlaish Police Station Sub-Inspector Nurul Alam told UNB. However, this number is expected to rise significantly.
Around 200 injured persons have so far been taken to Chittagong Medical College Hospital (CMCH). Ambulances carrying injured persons were still coming to the hospital nearly three hours after the explosion.
Early accounts indicate an initial fire at the depot broke out around 9:45pm.
Chattogram Fire Service and Civil Defence Assistant Director Faruk Hossain said as firefighters worked to put out the flame, there was a large explosion in one of the containers around 11pm, followed by a series of small ones, and since then the fire has been out of control.
"The explosion was heard within a radius of 4km from the spot," Faruk added.
Sixteen firefighting units have so far been dispatched to fight the flames but they were yet to tame it till the filing of this report. Firefighters from Cumilla and Feni are also joining them, but the presence of highly flammable chemicals in the containers has complicated the situation.
"We are trying our best. We don't know when we will be able to control the fire fully as the number of containers is huge. We don't know what kind of products are there inside the containers but we are informed that some containers contain imported chemicals that complicated the situation," one of the firefighters said.
President of the association of inland container depot owners Nurul Qayyum Khan said he suspects the explosion may have occurred due to a container with a shipment of hydrogen peroxide that was to be exported in the coming days.
Chattogram Civil Surgeon Ilias Chowdhury has requested everyone to rush to the blood bank of CMCH and donate blood.
Doctors from nearby government and private hospitals have been requested to report to CMCH as the tide of injured persons arriving there has been unrelenting.
Bangladesh Red Crescent Society volunteers are working with the hospital authorities to collect blood from the donors.
At the request of the civil surgeon, many doctors and nurses have joined the doctors at CMCH to deal with the situation.
"It is not yet clear what caused the fire. But I think it started from a container. Arrangements are being made to ensure that the injured get the best treatment; we will bear all costs," BM Container Depot Director Mujibur Rahman told UNB.
"Those who have sustained injuries will get maximum compensation. Also, we will take responsibilities for all the victims' families," he added.
BM Container Depot, a Dutch-Bangladeshi joint venture, was set up as an inland container depot (ICD) which is operating from May 2011, one of 19 such ICDs located in Chattogram.
The chairman of the depot is Dutch businessman Bert Pronk, who has other investments too in Bangladesh, while the managing director is Mustafizur Rahman of the Smart Group of Industries.
Also read: 330MW Power Plant in Habiganj catches fire
Bangladesh, India enjoy excellent relations: Information Minister
Information and Broadcasting Minister Hasan Mahmud said Bangladesh and India have a very good relationship and unity is needed to take the relationship forward.
“It is very normal that we have a good relationship with India as the country contributed to our Liberation War. We have no major differences of opinion. To carry forward the relationship, we have to work together,” he said.
Hasan Mahmud said this while addressing the Bangladesh-India relations-based reporting award on the occasion of Connections 2022 of the Indian Institute of Mass Communication Alumni Association-Bangladesh (IIMCAA B) at Dhaka Club in the capital on Saturday.
Mentioning that relations between the two countries has reached a new height led by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her Indian counterpart Narendra Modi, the minister said, “India had sheltered one crore Bangladeshi refugees during the Liberation War. Late Indira Gandhi had travelled to many countries to campaign for independence of Bangladesh and to free Bangabandhu from Pakistani jail. For these reasons, India’s name will be written forever in the history of Bangladesh.”
He also congratulated the award winners, saying IIMCAAB graduates can play an active role to accelerate the relationship between the two countries.
In the programme, Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Vikram Kumar Doraiwami said as a bosom friend India is committed to cooperating with Bangladesh to its level best.
IIMCAAB president and prime minister's press secretary Ihsanul Karim presided over the programme while IIMCAAB general saecretary Zahid Newaz Khan, senior journalist Azizul Islam Bhuiyan, among others, were present.
UNB Editor Farid Hossain also spoke at the event. He was the chief of the jury board of the Bangladesh-India relations-based reporting award.
News24 television's "Team Undercover" programme won the 2019 award for its in-depth investigation of how firearms are being smuggled into Bangladesh from India.
Prothom Alo Special Correspondent Raheed Ejaz won the 2020 award for his report: "Bangladesh-India relations through the lens of Dhaka: India wants Bangladesh as geopolitical partner."
Shamima Dola, editor of News Now Bangla, won the 2021 award for the reports "Line of credit: One of the bedrocks of India-Bangladesh ties," and "Implementation of motor vehicles agreement to increase Bangladesh-India trade by 25 percent."
IIMCAAB Joint Secretary Angur Nahar Monty conducted the programme while its Senior Vice President Azizul Islam Bhuiyan gave vote of thanks.
Also read: Huge scope of India-Bangladesh power, energy cooperation: Experts
Kishoreganj farmer killed by lightning strike
A farmer was killed in a lightning strike at Kamarkona village in Pakundia upazila in Kishoreganj district Saturday noon.
Deen Islam, son of Abdul Aowal of the village, was planting paddy on the land near his house when it suddenly started raining. At one point Deen was struck by lightning.
Read: Lightning kills 19-year-old in city
Locals took him to Pakundia Upazila Health Complex, where doctors declared him dead on arrival, said Mohammad Sarwar Jahan, officer-in-charge of Pakundia Police Station.
Lightning strikes in Bangladesh
Lightning strikes have turned into one of the deadliest natural disasters in Bangladesh claiming over 200 lives each year due to the loss of natural defenses and lack of precautionary measures, say experts.
They blame deforestation, worsening air pollution and global warming, climate variability, and the growing use of mobile and other technological devices for the increase in the frequency of lightning strikes.
Read: Youth drowns in Padma River
According to the Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief, 2,164 people died in lightning strikes in the country from 2011 to 2020. Considering the upward trend, the government in 2016 declared it as a natural disaster, making victims' families eligible for compensation.
About 70 percent of the total lightning strikes usually occur between April and June, and farmers like Deen Islam happen to be the most frequent victims, due to the long periods they spend outdoors working in their fields.