bangladesh
Lack of safe drinking water impacts 8.5m schoolchildren in Bangladesh: UN agencies
In Bangladesh, one in five schools (19 percent) lack safe drinking water, impacting 8.5 million schoolchildren, the UN agencies said Thursday.
More than four in ten schools lack basic sanitation facilities composed of gender-segregated toilets with privacy (43 percent) and basic hygiene services composed of handwashing stations with water and soap (44 percent), impacting over 19 million schoolchildren.
The UN agencies' report also highlights that 7 percent of schools in Bangladesh have no unsafe water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) facilities at all, meaning that over 3 million children go to a school where there is no safe drinking water, no latrine and no handwashing station.
Despite a steady decline in the proportion of schools without basic services, deep inequalities persist between and within countries.
Schoolchildren in the least developed countries (LDCs) and fragile contexts are the most affected, and emerging data shows that few schools have disability-accessible WASH services.
"Far too many children go to schools without safe drinking water, clean toilets, and soap for handwashing – making learning difficult," said Kelly Ann Naylor, UN's children's agency UNICEF director of water, sanitation, hygiene and climate, environment, energy, and disaster risk reduction.
"The Covid-19 pandemic underscored the importance of providing healthy and inclusive learning environments. To protect children's education, the road to recovery must include equipping schools with the most basic services to fight infectious diseases today and in the future."
"Access to water, sanitation and hygiene is not only essential for effective infection prevention and control but also a prerequisite for children's health, development and well-being," said Dr Maria Neira, World Health Organization (WHO) director at the Department of Environment, Climate Change and Health. "Schools should be settings where children thrive and not be subjected to hardship or infections due to lack of, or poorly maintained, basic infrastructure."
Schools play a critical role in promoting the formation of healthy habits and behaviours, yet many still lacked basic WASH services in 2021.
READ: Sylhet: Flood-hit city dwellers suffer crisis of gas, power and safe drinking water
According to the latest data from the WHO-UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme, globally, 29 percent of schools still lack basic drinking water services, impacting 546 million schoolchildren; 28 percent of schools still lack basic sanitation services, impacting 539 million schoolchildren; and 42 per cent of schools still do not have basic hygiene services, impacting 802 million schoolchildren.
One-third of children without basic services at their school lives are from LDCs, and over half live in fragile contexts.
Sub-Saharan Africa and Oceania are the only two regions where coverage of basic sanitation and hygiene services in schools remains under 50 percent; sub-Saharan Africa is the only region where coverage of basic drinking water services in schools remains under 50 percent.
Achieving universal coverage in schools globally by 2030 requires a 14-fold increase in current rates of progress on basic drinking water, a three-fold increase in rates of progress on basic sanitation, and a five-fold increase in basic hygiene services.
In LDCs and fragile contexts, achieving universal coverage of basic sanitation services in schools by 2030 would require over 100-fold and 50-fold increases in respective current rates of progress.
Improving pandemic preparedness and response will require more frequent monitoring of WASH and other elements of infection prevention and control (IPC) in schools, including cleaning, disinfection and solid waste management.
Providing disability-accessible WASH services in schools is the key to achieving inclusive learning for all children.
Still, only a limited number of countries report on this indicator and national definitions vary and far fewer provide disability-accessible WASH.
Emerging national data shows that disability-accessible WASH coverage is low and varies widely between school levels and urban and rural locations, with schools more likely to have accessible drinking water than accessible sanitation or hygiene.
In half the countries with data available, less than a quarter of schools had disability-accessible toilets.
In most countries with data, schools were more likely to have adapted infrastructure and materials – such as ramps, assistive technology, and learning materials – than disability-accessible toilets.
PM Hasina proposes river dredging jointly with India to overcome seasonal floods
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Thursday proposed for conducting dredging of rivers jointly with India which are shared by the two neighbouring countries for their mutual interest.
The premier made the proposal when Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Vikram Kumar Doraiswami called on her at her Jatiya Sangsad Office.
Prime Minister’s Press Secretary Ihsanul Karim briefed the reporters after the call on.
During the talks, Hasina said that water conservatory could be ensured through river dredging on regular basis.
In this regard, she expressed concerns over havoc caused by the recent floods in Assam, Meghalaya and Arunachal states of India.
The PM informed the Indian envoy that the floods have ravaged much of the country’s north-eastern part following heavy rains across mountains of the north-east India.
She said the government Bangladesh stands ready to work together with India to overcome any such natural disaster.
In reply, Indian envoy Doraiswami said that his country is also ready to assist the flood victims in Bangladesh.
READ: With Awami League in power, no one can stop Bangladesh’ development, Hasina tells JS
The press secretary said that Doraiswami handed over a letter of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in which he invited Hasina to visit India.
The high commissioner said officials of the two countries are working through diplomatic channel on the proposed visit, expected to take place in September next.
He mentioned that there will be a ministerial level meeting between the two countries just a couple of days before the visit of the Bangladesh PM to make it fruitful.
The Indian High Commissioner congratulated the prime minister on the 73rd founding anniversary of the ruling Awami League.
Besides, he also greeted the premier for successfully completing construction works of the much cherished Padma Bridge over the mighty river.
In this regard, he mentioned that the newly constructed mega bridge will connect both the countries directly and will enhance connectivity in the region.
The Indian High Commissioner apprised the Prime Minister that a trial run has already been done on transporting goods to India using Chittagong port, while such trial runs will also take place on four different routes.
While talking about the issue of electricity, the Indian envoy said, New Delhi will form a company and make investment to build transmission line to reach electricity from Nepal to Bangladesh.
Momen leads Bangladesh to Commonwealth Heads of Government in Rwanda
Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen has joined the Commonwealth ministers meeting on Small States, reassuring Bangladesh’s support in seeking the concrete actions by the international community to build resilience for the climate-vulnerable nations.
The foreign minister reached Kigali, Rwanda on Wednesday to attend the 26th Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), leading an eight-member delegation.
He was received by the Bangladesh envoys to London and Nairobi and the high officials from the Rwandan government.
This year, CHOGM is taking place from 24-25 June under the theme “Delivering a Common Future: Connecting, Innovating, Transforming” with the attendance of more than thirty heads of government.
Also read: Encouraged by Malaysia’s leadership on Myanmar crisis: UN expert
In the afternoon, the FM had bilateral meetings with his counterpart, the Foreign Minister of Commonwealth of Dominica Dr. Kenneth M Darroux and the Foreign Minister of Sri Lanka Prof. G.L Peiris where the entire gamut of bilateral and multilateral issues was discussed.
Court rejects Tk132 crore embezzlement complaint against Dhaka WASA MD, 8 others
A Dhaka court Thursday rejected a complaint of Tk132.4 crore embezzlement filed against Dhaka Water Supply and Sewerage Authority (WASA) Managing Director Taqsem A Khan and eight others after hearing it.
Md Shahab Uddin Sarkar, secretary of Dhaka WASA Karmachari Bahumukhi Samabay Samity, filed the complaint at the Court of Metropolitan Magistrate Ashekh Imam.
Other accused in the complaint were Dhaka WASA engineer Sharmin Haque Ameer, former revenue inspector Md Mizanur Rahman, engineer Md Akteruzzaman, revenue inspector Md Zakir Hossain, engineer Md Badrul Alam, Janata Bank former DGM Shyamal Biswas, deputy secretary Sheikh Enayet Ullah, and deputy-chief accountant Md Salequr Rahman.
Also Read: Rajshahi double murder: SC acquits two death-row convicts, commutes sentence of another
According to the complaint, Taqsem A Khan and others embezzled over Tk132.4 crore from the fund of Dhaka WASA Karmachari Bahumukhi Samabay Samity from six banks through various cheques in the fiscal year 2017-2018.
They were also accused of stealing movable and immovable properties, including cars of the association, worth Tk200 crore.
An audit report of the Department of Cooperatives shows that the claims of irregularities are true, the complaint says.
Over five lakh Bangladeshi expats lost jobs during Covid-19 pandemic: Minister
Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment Minister Imran Ahmad on Thursday said that more than five lakh Bangladeshi expatriate workers returned to the country after losing their jobs since the outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic.
The minister said this while replying to a question from ruling Awami League MP from Faridpur Manzur Hossain.
Imran said that 5.4 lakh migrant workers have got employment abroad till May 2022 due to various diplomatic initiatives of the present government.
In response to a question from AL MP from Chattogram Didarul Alam, the minister said that a total of 10.50 lakh female migrant workers are working in 84 countries of the world according to data until May this year.
The minister highlighted the various steps taken by the relevant Bangladesh missions to ensure the safety of female workers abroad.
Replying to a question from AL MP from Bhola Ali Azam, Food Minister Sadhan Chandra Majumder said there was no shortage of food grains in the country.
READ: PM in JS: Measures taken to make next parliamentary polls more acceptable
Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi in reply to a question from AL MP from Jamalpur Abul Kalam Azad, told the House that the government has identified and took actions against those responsible for trying to make people stand against the government by creating a volatile environment in the market by stockpiling soybean oil recently.
The minister also said the market monitoring team led by the Ministry of Commerce and the National Consumer Rights Protection Department has already fined those responsible for creating a volatile environment in the market.
“Fines have been realized from the errant businesses through operating mobile courts run by the district and upazila administrations. In addition, regular cases are being filed against those responsible,” the commerce minister said.
Russia offers to sell 2 lakh metric tons of wheat to Bangladesh: Food minister
Russia has offered to export two lakh metric tons of wheat to Bangladesh, Food Minister Sadhan Chandra Majumder said told the Parliament on Thursday.
In reply to a tabled question from Awami League MP from Dhaka Shafiul Islam, the minister said that foreign ministry has approached to different wheat exporting countries for import as the prices of wheat and flour had gone up along with various food grains due to the war between Ukraine and Russia.
“Russia already has offered to export two lakh metric tons of wheat to Bangladesh. Besides, a letter has been sent to the Bangladesh High Commission in Delhi to import wheat from India at government and private levels,” the food minister said.
Also Read: With Awami League in power, no one can stop Bangladesh’ development, Hasina tells JS
IFC blames flood disaster on unplanned development Bangladesh and India’s Meghalaya, Assam
International Farakka Committee (IFC) in a statement on Thursday said that unplanned development activities both in Meghalaya and Assam in India and the Sylhet region in Bangladesh are the main factors that have turned the floods into a cataclysmic disaster.
It said the current floods, called worst in the last two decades, have caught the people of northeastern and northern districts of Bangladesh unprepared inflicting extensive damage to their life and property.
The worst affected districts are Sunamganj, Sylhet, Moulvibazar, Netrokona, Kurigram, and Habiganj. Kishoreganj has also been affected as recently constructed structures blocked the discharge of flood water.
Development activities at upstream increased the velocity of runoff of rainwater which crossed into Bangladesh in an extremely large volume with a great force.
Haphazardly constructed embankments inside Bangladesh again obstructed the flow of the water and thus worsened the floods.
All this is the outcome of the lack of integrated trans-boundary water management. Clearly the damages could have been minimized if unsustainable development activities were not carried out.
READ: South Asia floods hampering access to food, clean water
The Dhaka-Delhi joint consultative body which was in session in New Delhi called for strengthening cooperation in the water sector. Such a statement should have better come from the Joint Rivers Commission which has not been functioning, the IFC said adding that the flash floods in water hungry Bangladesh have caused colossal damages.
Apart from dozens of barrages on rivers in the Assam region, all the 27 rivers that feed the Barak-Meghna river system in Bangladesh have been embanked.
As a result, for more than a decade now the Meghna river system does not overflow their banks and their huge floodplains in the Sylhet-Cumilla regions remain dry throughout the year.
IFC urges all patriotic people to join efforts to reach emergency relief to help the flood affected people stand back on their feet.
The signatories to the statement were: Atiqur Rahman Salu, chairman, Sayed Tipu Sultan, secretary general, International Farakka Committee, New York, Prof. Jasim Uddin Ahmad, president, Dr. SI Khan, senior vice-president, Syed Irfanul Bari, general secretary, IFC Bangladesh and IFC coordinator Mostafa Kamal Majumder.
With Awami League in power, no one can stop Bangladesh’ development, Hasina tells JS
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Thursday said that no one can stop Bangladesh’s march towards development if the country is run in accordance with the plans formulated by the ruling Awami League.
“If the country goes with these plans no one will be able to restrict the forward march of the country. This is my firm believe.” she said told the House speaking at an unscheduled discussion on the occasion of the 73rd founding anniversary of Awami League.
The Leader of the House said that the AL government has formulated the plans to transform Bangladesh into an advanced country in the future.
She mentioned said that her Awami League government has adopted the Delta Plan 2100 and formulated plans to make the country prosperous and developed one by 2041.
“If AL continues in power to serve the people, Bangladesh will surely be a developed and prosperous country in future,” She said.
Hasina said that AL means Bangladesh’s independence, attainment of the right to speak in mother tongue, developed and Golden Bangladesh.
“The birth of Awami League was for a special reason,” she recalled.
READ: Awami League carrying out 'totalitarian aggression': Fakhrul
She mentioned that just seven months into the independence of Pakistan, the Pakistani rulers adopted a hostile attitude towards the then East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) and its people.
She said that the then Pakistani rulers prevented Bengalis from speaking in their mother tongue, exploited the Bengalis socioeconomically and tortured.
“To protest that Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman forged Language Movement, established Chhatra League and from the very beginning of AL he was with it,” she said.
She also mentioned that AL since its inception in 1949 engaged in establishing the rights of the people of this country.
“AL is the organisation of the people of Bangladesh. The AL always waged movement for the oppressed and neglected people of the country. For this many AL leaders and activists laid their lives,” she added.
The PM said that the leaders and activists of AL are always beside the people of the country in any calamity.
“To serve the people is the duty and responsibility of ours. This is our ideology,” she claimed.
She said that AL restored democracy in the country after it was snatched by the military rulers following the assassination of the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman on August 15, 1975.
Bangladesh is developing as democracy continues, she said.
Hasina said that Padma Bridge has been built with the country’s own resources.
“Like this way Bangladesh will be advancing and it will never be dependent on others and never to beg to anyone. With its own dignity Bangladesh will raise its head in the world arena,” she said.
AL lawmakers Amir Hossain Amu and Tofail Ahmed also took part in the discussion.
Training on emergency response to chemical incidents ends in Dhaka
A five-day training on assistance and protection against chemical weapons and emergency response to chemical incidents ended at a Dhaka hotel Thursday.
The training course, which began on June 19, was jointly organised by the Bangladesh National Authority for Chemical Weapons Convention (BNACWC) and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW).
OPCW representatives, high officials from Bangladesh Armed Forces, police, ministries, and participants of other South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation countries were also present at the closing ceremony, according to the Inter Service Public Relation (ISPR) Directorate.
Four OPCW instructors, 20 participants from India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, the Maldives, Nepal, and 17 participants from Bangladesh attended the course.
Read: ILO calls for ensuring proper handling, storage of chemicals in Bangladesh
State Minister for Disaster Management and Relief Dr Md Enamur Rahman was present as the chief guest and Lieutenant General Waker-Uz-Zaman, Armed Forces Division principal staff officer and BNACWC chairman, was present as a special guest at the closing ceremony.
In March 2018, the same regional course was jointly conducted by the OPCW and the BNACWC in Bangladesh.
The practical part of this course was held at the Fire Service and Civil Defence Training Complex in Mirpur Wednesday.
The participants were oriented with all the gears and equipment they needed to use in an emergency.
They also learnt the mechanism involving identification, detection and decontamination procedures in the face of a chemical accident.
A basic idea regarding the medical management of chemical weapon casualties was also given to the participants.
Italy keen to supply LNG to Bangladesh
Italy is keen to supply liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Bangladesh.
Such interest of the European country was expressed when its ambassador to Bangladesh Enrico Nunziata met State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid at his office at the ministry on Thursday.
The Italian Envoy informed the state minister that its state coordinated energy company Eni SPA is interested to supply the LNG and also wants to work with Bangladesh to contribute in the field of sustainable energy, gas exploration, LNG and traditional refinery development, wind, hydrogen and new technology invention.
Also read: Global oil, LNG price hike impact Bangladesh: Momen
He also presented the current state of Italian companies’ operations in energy and technology sectors in Bangladesh.
The Italian envoy discussed different issues including decarbonsation, bio refining, development of renewable energy, hydrocarbon production.
Appreciating the Italian interest, Nasrul Hamid said the European company will be welcomed in Bangladesh.
He said the business model through which the Italian company wants to supply the LNG should be discussed at the expert level.
“Bangladesh and Italy can exchange their experiences in oil and gas exploration and also in the development of hydrogen fuel,” he said.
Also read: Bangladesh purchases LNG, fertiliser at lower rates as prices fall in global market
Both the nations would be benefited if such experiences are exchanged at the officials’ level under a certain framework, he added.
Senior Vice president of the International Affairs Analysis and Business Support Department of Eni SPA Marco Piredda, Vice President of the Business Development Department Mauro Rinaudo, were among others present in the meeting.