News Flash
DHAKA, May 26, 2025 (BSS) – Adviser to the Ministries of Social Welfare and Women and Children Affairs Sharmeen S Murshid today said ensuring children's postnatal care and development is a collective duty for their holistic growth, as they form the very foundation of a nation's future.
She made the remark while addressing the opening ceremony of the two-day National ECD Conference 2025 at BRAC University here. The event, titled "Twelve Years of Integrated ECD Policy – Where Do We Stand?", according to a press release.
The adviser emphasized that in pursuit of this goal, the government has been prioritizing free and compulsory education for children, fulfilling basic needs, ensuring equal opportunities, providing social protection, promoting public health, and upholding moral values as integral parts of state governance.
With Professor Syed Farhat Anwar, Vice Chancellor of BRAC University, in the chair, Deepika Mehrish Sharma, Head of UNICEF Bangladesh’s Nutrition Section, Dr Manzoor Ahmed, Chairperson of Bangladesh ECD Network and Syeda Sazia Zaman, Member Secretary of the ECD also spoke in the inaugural session.
Sharmeen Murshid highlighted the need to focus on maternal and child health to ensure children’s protection and rights, particularly in the context of improving child nutrition. She noted that good nutrition is essential for children's survival, cognitive development, and overall growth.
The adviser also pointed out that the surrounding environment plays a crucial role in ensuring nutritious food for children, saying families must be supported through clear plans that improve and expand access to nutrition, social protection services, and healthcare.
She identified several key challenges behind the growing crisis of inadequate childhood nutrition: families' financial inability to afford nutritious food, lack of parental awareness about feeding children nutritious meals, aggressive marketing and consumption of ultra-processed and sugary foods and beverages, and climate-induced disasters that negatively affect food production
She added that climate change-related disruptions, especially reduced availability of fresh food and declining agricultural productivity, have contributed to rising food prices.
Sharmeen Murshid mentioned that both prenatal and postnatal environments are critical to early childhood care and development, saying public awareness must be raised at the family and societal levels about the importance of early childhood development.
The success of national ECD policies depends on the coordinated efforts of the government, families, communities, and international partners, she added.
She said the government continues to work actively on primary education and child protection in achieving significant progress. She called on all stakeholders to work together for the advancement of future generations and the overall progress of Bangladesh.
