Social Welfare Minister Dr AZM Zahid Hossain spoke at the national SDG conference in Dhaka today. Photo : BSS

DHAKA, Aug 12, 2026 (BSS) - Social Welfare Minister Dr AZM Zahid Hossain has stressed the need for making and implementing government decisions quickly to achieve the SDGs, saying efforts are being made to speed up bureaucratic activities. 

“Efforts are underway to end red tape. All relevant stakeholders should be brought together at one table to make quick decisions and implement those,” he told a session at the national conference on SDGs at the Bangladesh-China Friendship Conference Center in the capital today.

Noting that Bangladesh currently ranks 110th in terms of implementing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Zahid said there is very little time left to implement SDGs so that “we have to move forward rapidly now”.

Turning to BNP government’s target, he said the government’s goal is to build a Bangladesh where the benefits of development are not limited to cities or people with financial means. 

People with special needs, as well as disadvantaged people living on footpaths and at railway stations, will also receive equal importance.

The minister said the government eyes to build such a Bangladesh where no one neglects anyone else.

Highlighting various government programmes for the education, skills development and rehabilitation of people with special needs, Zahid said it would not be enough to limit their opportunities to formal education. 

They must also be provided with technical training, opportunities to acquire advanced skills and rehabilitation support, he said.

Zahid said an initiative has been taken to introduce mobile vehicles to provide physiotherapy and speech therapy services to people in remote areas. 

There are plans to extend these services to the upazila level, with a target of implementing the programme within the next three years, he added.

Regarding daycare services, Zahid, also minister for women and children affairs, said daycare facilities would be expanded at the district and upazila levels. 

The government plans to expand the services according to demand rather than keeping them concentrated only in cities, he said adding that in particular, efforts are being made to establish daycare facilities through partnerships with the private sector for the children of women working in the garment industry.

The minister said the government is planning to develop skilled caregivers and sees the caregiving sector as an opportunity not only for domestic employment but also for exporting skilled workers to the international labour market. 

Different types of caregivers are needed for children, people with special needs, sick people and the elderly, he said. 

Developing skilled caregivers could help meet domestic demand while also creating opportunities for overseas employment and increasing remittances, said Zahid.

The minister also spoke about plans to expand training programmes at the upazila level to develop the skills of women and young people. 

Training will be provided in areas including livestock and poultry, handicrafts, beautification, tailoring, mobile phone repair, plumbing, welding and automobile maintenance, he added.

Zahid said there are also plans to provide necessary equipment and seed money after training so that trainees can become self-employed and entrepreneurs.

Regarding the Family Card programme, the minister said beneficiaries are not being selected on the basis of political affiliation. 

“It has not been considered which political party anyone belongs to. The goal is to ensure universal access to benefits,” he said.

As money will be transferred directly through banks and mobile financial services, there will be no opportunity for middlemen to become involved in the programme, he said.

Prime Minister’s Adviser and Prime Minister Office (PMO)’s spokesperson Mahdi Amin and BNP Standing Committee member Begum Selima Rahman, MP and Madhabi Marma, MP, also spoke with Dr Debapriya Bhattacharya, convener of the Citizens’ Platform for SDGs, in the chair.