United News of Bangladesh

The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW), in collaboration with Save the Children in Bangladesh, has officially launched a  district-wide piloting app to accelerate efforts to dizitalise health services for children under age five. The event was  held at the Directorate of Health Office in Barishal on Saturday, according to a press release. Following successful field testing in Barishal, Manikganj, and Bhola districts and endorsement by the Bangladesh Medical Research Council (BMRC), the app will now be piloted across all 319 government healthcare facilities in Barishal. This district-wide rollout showcases how digital innovation can enhance equity and efficiency in public health, said the release. The Integrated Management of Childhood Illness (IMCI) digital app, developed by Save the Children, is designed to significantly improve child health outcomes. By empowering frontline health workers to accurately assess, classify, treat, and refer childhood illnesses more efficiently, the app has the potential to bring about a positive change in child health. Integrated with key national health platforms, including DHIS2, OpenSRP, and OpenMRS, the app connects directly to the government's central Shared Health Record (SHR), enabling real-time, paperless service delivery and monitoring. The launch event brought together senior government officials, health sector leaders, development partners, and representatives from Save the Children and SAINT BD. Distinguished guests included: Md. Saidur Rahman, secretary, Health Services Division, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare said “Losing a child at a very young age leaves a shocking impact on the parents, even for a long time. If we can alleviate such death through using this IMCI app, it will start of a win. The app has a long journey, starting from 2020. Now, as we are progressing towards piloting in Barishal district, After the successful piloting and assessing the results from the field, I hope relevant government and non-government organizations will support to the usage of this app nationwide.”  Prof. Dr. Md. Abu Jafor, director general, Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) said ”Tools like the IMCI apps are the kind of innovation we need to actualise our long-term health goals for 2030. We must focus on services that strengthen the sector through integrated systems, supported by multisectoral collaboration and expertise. We need to accelerate our services to reach all healthcare workers at the grassroots level. We need to start with primary healthcare because that is the start of a child’s healthy life. The pilot of the IMCI app is the start of actions that have the potential to transform the health landscape.” Shumon Shengupta, country director, Save the Children in Bangladesh said “I am often asked by our global counterparts about the innovations emerging from Bangladesh - a country widely regarded as a beacon of new thinking and innovative approaches within the development sector of the Global South. As Save the Children, "we are committed to investing in healthcare innovations, particularly through the use of IMCI (Integrated Management of Childhood Illness) applications," he said. "These digital solutions are designed to maximise impact, strengthen our collaboration with the Government of Bangladesh, and help scale access to quality healthcare nationwide. Together, we aim to further solidify Bangladesh’s role as a leader in sustainable development and transformative health outcomes.” Dr. Tahmina Ferdousi of Save the Children and Dr. Md. Jahurul Islam from DGHS shared the overview and next course of actions of the IMCI app through presentation. Save the Children shares experiences in improving healthcare for first-time parents *The Integrated Management of Childhood Illness (IMCI) digital app, developed by Save the Children under the Sponsorship Innovation and Learning Fund (SILF), is a key component of Bangladesh's Smart Health Vision. Aligned with national IMCI guidelines, the app equips healthcare providers with a simplified, digital protocol for assessing, classifying, and managing childhood illnesses in children under five. By digitizing health data and streamlining care pathways, the IMCI app plays a crucial role in improving child survival nationwide. The piloting phase of the IMCI app will focus on ensuring adequate training, monitoring, and implementation in all 10 upazilas of Barisal. This approach fosters a shared commitment between government and development partners to drive digital transformation in child health, ensuring that the benefits of the app are fully realized. The IMCI app’s integration into the national system was supported by the Health Systems Innovation and Learning (HSiL) Grand Challenge Fund, marking a notable example of successful public-private collaboration in digital health innovation. END/UNB/AJ/F  

Save the Children, in collaboration with various stakeholders, celebrated International Women’s Day 2025 in their local outpost, with the aim of Empowering Women for a Brighter Future. The celebration highlighted the importance of gender equality and the need for localized strategies to empower women, particularly those from marginalized communities. It brought together government officials, development partners, private sector representatives, NGOs, and women-led organizations to honor women's achievements and discuss strategies for their empowerment. The event included a flash mob articulating the collective effort to achieve gender equality by the Shobujer Ovijan Foundation, keynote presentations and discussions, and an award ceremony for the “Shaping Tomorrow: Women’s Empowerment Innovation Challenge”, recognizing outstanding contributions to women’s empowerment.  Speeches were given by the guest of honor - Andre Carstens, Charge D’Affaires, Embassy of the Kingdom of Netherlands in Bangladesh; and chief guest - Keya Khan,Director General of the Department of Women Affairs, Government of the Peoples’ Republic of Bangladesh.  The event also featured the award-giving ceremony for the “Shaping Tomorrow: Women’sEmpowerment Innovation Challenge”, recognizing 11 organizations and their outstanding contributions to women’s empowerment. Andre Carstens, Head of Mission, Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Bangladesh-, stated: “It's about fifty years since the UN adopted IWD, but back then, the day was already more than sixty years old. Similar movements for women's equality started more than a century ago. 2025 is pivotal as it marks the 30th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action. This document is the most progressive and widely endorsed blueprint for women’s and girls’ rights worldwide. It transformed theagenda in terms of legal protection, access to services, youth engagement, and changes in social norms, stereotypes, and ideas stuck in the past."  This year’s theme, "Rights. Equality. Empowerment," calls for action that can unlock equal rights and opportunities for all. A future where no one is left behind. Central to this vision is empowering the next generation - particularly young women and adolescent girls - ascatalysts for lasting change. Keya Khan, Director General of the Department of Women Affairs, stated:“We are working very hard for women’s empowerment. Many government posts are working withdevelopment partners for their economic empowerment. Society blocks them when they try to access these services."  

Chevron Bangladesh has partnered with Save the Children to launch a program titled: “Integrated Support for Children with Disabilities” (ISCwD) at District Commissioner Conference Hall in Habiganj, Sylhet. The one-year program will cover children with disability aged up to 18 years and their families, community members living in the project locations, said a Chevron press release. Read:Chevron to up gas production by 100 MMCFD from Bibiyana from early April Chevron has been operating three gas fields in Bangladesh which are Bibiyana, Jalabad and Moulvibazar in Sylhet region. The objective of this program is to support children with disabilities to access to education, health, and development from mainstream service providers, minimize social stigma and prejudice for children with disability with the goal of improving social inclusion in the community and support the children and their families to enable them to learn and earn. The program will run from March 2022 to February 2023 and will promote access to education, health services, development, participation, and well-being through inclusive approaches, which will help support the achievement of the UN SDGs. The program will support 300 children and their families, community members living in the project locations, caregivers, teachers, 20 primary schools and 200 teachers, school management committee members, community people, local elites, and other adults. Read:Chevron celebrates 13 years of partnership with Save the Children Deputy Commissioner (DC) of Habiganj district Ishrat Jahan as chief guest along with Civil Surgeon, ADC (General), ADC (Education & ICT), Deputy Director (DD)- District Social Welfare Office, District Education Officer (DEO), District Primary Education Officer (DPEO), Assistant District Primary Education Officer (ADPEO), District Youth Development Officer, Inspector of Police Habiganj district; and Upazila Social Welfare Officer of Nabiganj Upazila and Chevron Bangladesh’s Corporate Affairs Director, Muhammad Imrul Kabir attended the event.

Chevron Bangladesh and Save the Children have celebrated their long partnership to promote access and increase basic educational outcomes for marginalized children through SHIKHON program. An event titled‘ Dissemination Program of SHIKHON Tracer Study and Celebrating 13 Years of Partnership’  was held at the Lakeshore Hotel, Gulshan, Dhaka recently. Read:Chevron signs deal with Rock Energy to market its lube products in Bangladesh According to a release of the Chevron, the SHIKHON project, a collaboration between Chevron and Save the Children since 2008, has reached more than 21,000 people and provided access to primary education to more than 4,000 at-risk, out-of-school children. For the past 13 years, it has been a critical safety net and springboard to success for local children. Under the project, dropped out and out of school children completed primary education (school readiness to Grade V) through Non-Formal Primary Education (NFPE) schools and transitioned to nearest high schools in Grade VI; and marginalized hard-to-reach children completed a pre-primary component and Grades I through III from Early Primary Education (EPE) centers or one-room schools and be equipped to transition into Bangladesh’s national education system from Grade IV and beyond. At the event, the findings of the Tracer Study on the SHIKHON program were presented by Shah Shamim Ahmed, Associate Professor, Institute of Education and Research, Dhaka University. The findings from the Tracer Study on the Chevron supported SHIKHON project revealed that the program resulted in increased access to cost-effective non-formal basic education for hardest to reach children in targeted communities, increased efficiency, and quality of non-formal basic education services using holistic approaches for children to succeed in school and increased collaboration between the formal and non-formal primary sectors to promote sharing and adoption of best practices. The event was attended by Eric M. Walker, President of Chevron Bangladesh, Shahin Islam, Project Director, SHIKHON, Save the Children; Muhammad Imrul Kabir, Corporate Affairs Director, Chevron Bangladesh; Dr. Md. Abdul Halim, Director, Institute of Education and Research, Dhaka University; and Mr. Shah Shamim Ahmed, Associate Professor, Institute of Education and Research, Dhaka University, among others. Chevron Bangladesh, the operator of three gas fields in Sylhet region in the country, invests in activities and programs that focus primarily on economic development, education and health care, reaching thousands of people in northeast Bangladesh. Read: Chevron’s scholarship programme for local students continues Under Chevron Bangladesh’s Quality Education Support initiative, a scholarship drive for high-achieving underprivileged students was launched in 2001. In 2021, scholarships were awarded to 783students in 23 schools. It also included the remuneration support for additional teachers in selected schools, an endowment fund, sports equipment, school furniture, sanitation facilities and tube-wells to provide safe drinking water for selected schools, said the Chevron.

Two members of the international humanitarian group Save the Children were missing Saturday after Myanmar government troops rounded up villagers, some believed to be women and children, fatally shot more than 30 and burned the bodies, according to a witness and other reports. Purported photos of the aftermath of the Christmas Eve massacre in eastern Mo So village, just outside Hpruso township in Kayah state where refugees were sheltering from an army offensive, spread on social media in the country, fueling outrage against the military that took power in February. READ: Tortured to death: Myanmar mass killings revealed The accounts could not be independently verified. The photos showed the charred bodies of over 30 people in three burned-out vehicles. A villager who said he went to the scene told The Associated Press that the victims had fled the fighting between armed resistance groups and Myanmar’s army near Koi Ngan village, which is just beside Mo So, on Friday. He said they were killed after they were arrested by troops while heading to refugee camps in the western part of the township. Save the Children said that two of its staff who were traveling home for the holidays after conducting humanitarian response work in a nearby community were “caught up in the incident and remain missing." “We have confirmation that their private vehicle was attacked and burned out,” the group added in a statement. “The military reportedly forced people from their cars, arrested some, killed others and burned their bodies.” The government has not commented on the allegations, but a report in the state-run Myanma Alinn daily newspaper on Saturday said that the fighting near Mo So broke out on Friday when members of ethnic guerrilla forces, known as the Karenni National Progressive Party, and those opposed to the military drove in “suspicious” vehicles and attacked security forces after refusing to stop. The newspaper report said they included new members who were going to attend training to fight the army, and that the seven vehicles they were traveling in were destroyed in a fire. It gave no further details about the killings. READ: Myanmar public urges gas sanctions to stop military funding The witness who spoke to the AP said the remains were burned beyond recognition, and children's and women's clothes were found together with medical supplies and food. “The bodies were tied with ropes before being set on fire,” said the witness, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he feared for his safety. He did not see the moment they were killed, but said he believed some of them were Mo So villagers who reportedly got arrested by troops on Friday. He denied that those captured were members of locally organized militia groups. Myanmar's independent media reported on Friday that 10 Mo So villagers including children were arrested by the army and four members of the local paramilitary Border Guard Forces who went to negotiate for their release were reportedly tied up and shot in the head by the military. The witness said the villagers and anti-government militia groups left the bodies as military troops arrived near Mo So while the bodies were being prepared for cremation. The fighting was still intense near the village. “It’s a heinous crime and the worst incident during Christmas. We strongly condemn that massacre as a crime against humanity,” said Banyar Khun Aung, director of the Karenni Human Rights Group. Earlier this month, government troops were also accused of rounding up villagers, some believed to be children, tying them up and slaughtering them. An opposition leader, Dr. Sasa, who uses only one name, said the civilians were burned alive. A video of the aftermath of the Dec. 7 assault — apparently retaliation for an attack on a military convoy — showed the charred bodies of 11 people lying in a circle amid what appeared to be the remains of a hut. Fighting meanwhile resumed Saturday in a neighboring state on the border with Thailand, where thousands of people have fled to seek shelter. Local officials said Myanmar’s military unleashed airstrikes and heavy artillery on Lay Kay Kaw, a small town controlled by ethnic Karen guerrillas, since Friday. The military’s action prompted multiple Western governments including the U.S. Embassy to issue a joint statement condemning “serious human rights violations committed by the military regime across the country." “We call on the regime to immediately cease its indiscriminate attacks in Karen state and throughout the country, and to ensure the safety of all civilians in line with international law,” the joint statement said.

The non-governmental organization Save the Children has announced the recruitment of manpower for several posts. The company will recruit manpower for the posts of Director, Advocacy, Campaign, Communication and Media (ACCM), Advisor, Education and Senior Manager, Mill, Start Fund Bangladesh. Interested and eligible candidates can apply online. Position Name: Director, Advocacy, Campaign, Communication & Media (ACCM) Category: Advocacy, Campaign and Policy Qualifications: Postgraduate degree in any subject. However, candidates with degrees in social sciences, communication or English will be preferred. Must have experience working in such position in international or local NGO, UN or corporate organization. Must have experience in team management and working with regional and global level teams. Job type: permanent, full time Work place: Dhaka, Bangladesh Salary: Not mentioned The way the application You have to apply online through this link. https://bangladesh.savethechildren.net/careers/details?jid=71520 Application deadline: November 26, 2021 Position Name: Advisor, Education Category: Program Operations Qualifications: Postgraduate degree in education, social sciences or any related subject. Must be proficient in English. Must have at least seven years of experience working in an education management program or similar position. Have an idea about child education, primary education and basic education. Must be proficient in Microsoft Office and Excel. Must have experience working with the team. Job type: permanent, full time Work place: Dhaka, Bangladesh Work place: Dhaka, Bangladesh Salary: Not mentioned The way the application You have to apply online through this link. https://bangladesh.savethechildren.net/careers/details?jid=71411 Application deadline: November 22, 2021 Position Name: Senior Manager, Mill, Start Fund Bangladesh Category: Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning Qualifications: Post Graduate Degree in Statistics, Development Studies, Social Sciences, Anthropology or any related subject. Must be proficient in Bengali and English. Must have at least seven years working experience in Monitoring and Evaluation. Must be proficient in Microsoft Office, Excel, PowerPoint and R / SPSS. Must have the ability to analyze data. Job type: Contract (one year) Salary: Not mentioned The way the application You have to apply online through this link. https://bangladesh.savethechildren.net/careers/details?jid=71632 Application deadline: November 23, 2021 Also Read:Bangladesh Railway Jobs: Railway recruitment circular

The “Rural Community Support Team (CST) Interventions” was launched in Faridpur on Thursday “to combat the Covid-19 pandemic.”

More than 300,000 children in war-ravaged Afghanistan face freezing winter conditions that can lead to illness and death without proper winter clothing and heating, a humanitarian organization said Thursday.

The ‘National Urban Community Volunteer Database-2020’ was finalised on Sunday.

Save the Children in Bangladesh has laid emphasis on protection, proper education and collective work with the government saying it is much needed now to continue children’s education at home and re-opening schools safely.