Child Mortality
Media can help achieve MDG-4
Published On: 2008-09-07
Speakers at a seminar yesterday said media as a platform can play a big role to save the lives of children by providing proper healthcare services information for the common people.
Media can also help policymakers set priority to ensure the pro-poor social safety net, they said, adding that it can help Bangladesh achieve the Millennium Development Goal (MDG)-4 to reduce the child mortality by two thirds between 1990 and 2015.
Styled 'Get on track to save the children's lives,' the seminar was jointly organised by Save the Children-UK, Eminence, an NGO, and Editor, an online news agency, at the Cirdap auditorium in the city.
Speaking as the chief guest, National Prof MR Khan said
under-five mortality rate in the country has declined from 151 deaths per thousand in 1991 to 62 deaths per thousand in 2006.
“To save children's rights needs right intervention in right time,” Prof Khan said, adding media and the civil society members can create pressure on the government for well-timed and feasible policymaking.
Dr Abu Muhammad Zakir Hossain of Eminence presented a keynote paper at the seminar with Director General of the Directorate General of Health Services Dr MA Faiz in the chair.
He said mass media campaign can influence the general people for the use of health services either directly or indirectly.
Dr Zakir said a large number of people in the country use mass media. So, it can play a big role in sensitising people to save the lives of children.
Dr Faiz said the government has already attached a high priority to the health sector and encourages any initiative for its development.
Bangladesh has achieved success in cutting under-five mortality at a significant rate, he said, adding, “Nevertheless, it is not high to be satisfied, because there are distinct regional variations that need to be addressed.
Urban slums, Chittagong Hill Tract, coastal belt regions and other ecologically vulnerable areas are falling behind.”
Prof Faiz further said, “To overcome the challenges, we are badly in need of a big push that should be made combined, effective, pro-poor and target-oriented.”
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http://www.thedailystar.net/story.php?nid=53664
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