Deliver $40b pledged for healthcare improvement
Hasina urges global campaign partners
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has called for early release of US $40 billion pledged by campaign partners in the Global Strategy last year to help improve healthcare facilities in Bangladesh.
She made the call while addressing the plenary session of the "Every Woman Every Child" project at ECOSOC Chamber. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon chaired the session.
Hasina said the campaign partners pledged to provide US$ 40 billion when the "Global Campaign and the Strategy for Women's and Children's Health" was launched last year.
Emphasising early fulfilment of the $ 40 billion pledge, the prime minister said we need more assistance for improving healthcare facilities.
She said her government aims to graduate Bangladesh to a middle-income country by 2021 with facilities for better education, health, nutrition and empowerment of every woman and child.
In this connection, Hasina mentioned that Bangladesh has already achieved a remarkable success in several areas of women and child healthcare.
She said Bangladesh has reduced Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) by 45 percent since 1990, reduced Maternal Mortality Rate (MMR) by 66 percent since 1990, and kept HIV/AIDS prevalence, especially in woman, to less than 0.01 percent.
About last year's Global Campaign, the prime minister said Bangladesh made some pledges including one to double the percentage of healthy births by 2015 with the assistance of skilled health workers.
“Therefore, under our National Health, Population and Nutrition Development Programme, a midwifery course has been introduced with about 100 midwives already trained. Our aim is to have 3000 trained midwives by 2015.”
Hasina mentioned that the government has revised the National Women Development Policy, the National Children Policy, and the National Education Policy and will revise the National Health Policy soon.
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