Children's Health, Education
Successes marred by inequality
Says Save the Children
The inequality between poor and rich children is widening in the country despite Bangladesh's admirable successes in cutting child deaths and increasing school enrolment rate, observes an international child rights organisation.
Bangladesh has achieved splendid results in the health and education sectors, but inequality hinders these achievements, said Michael McGrath, country director of Save the Children in Bangladesh.
“There has been a vertical increase in inequality over the last decade for rural Bangladesh, from 0.35 [on Gini coefficient] in 2000 to 0.46 in 2010. The per capita income of the richer sections of society has increased much faster than that of the poorer sections," he said.
On Gini index, "0" corresponds to complete equality while "1" corresponds to complete inequality.
McGrath recommended that the government should have a clear strategy for reducing inequality to ensure the most vulnerable children's exposure in development efforts through providing them with the facilities of social welfare measures.
He has recently talked to The Daily Star on a report of Save the Children, International on the growing inequality between poor and rich children globally. The report, "Born equal: How reducing inequality could give our children better future," was released on November 1.
The paper says global disparity between rich and poor children has increased by 35 percent since 1990, and this discrimination is increasing the children's risks of suffering from different diseases, becoming mentally and physically stunted, and dropping out of school, among others.
The report also states that the number of under-5 deaths is twice as many in poor families as in rich families in some countries.
Local experts have critically watched the inequality scenario, which, they say, widens disparity between rural and urban children in the education sector.
Despite the government's success in running around 70 percent of the primary schools to ensure children's education in the country, a good number of children are still deprived of educational opportunities, said Rasheda K Chowdhury, executive director, Campaign for Popular Education (CAMPE).
Dr Hossain Zillur Rahman, former adviser to a caretaker government and coordinator of Power and Participation Research Centre (PPRC), blamed rural people's poor economic condition for their inability to support their children's education.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel.
Comments