BracU hosts National ECD Conference

From May 26th to 27th, the Early Child Development conference was held at Brac University. The event’s purpose was to evaluate Bangladesh’s state since implementing the Early Child Care and Development (ECCD) Policy by the government in 2013. This 2 day conference was also supported by Bangladesh ECD Network (BEN), BRAC Institute of Educational Development, UNICEF, BRAC, Save the Children, Plan International Bangladesh, Educo Bangladesh, ICHD, and the Royal National Lifeboat Institute. This event had over 300 participants with government officials, academics and journalists.

Sharmeen S Murshid (Honourable Adviser, Ministry of Women and Children Affairs) inaugurated the event as the chief guest. She believes that taking care of parents’ and children’s mental health issues is an important step. She said, “Ensuring postnatal care and supporting children’s development is a shared responsibility of all.” She requested the stakeholders to come and work together on this important matter. 

Deepika Mehrish Sharma (Chief, Nutrition Section, UNICEF Bangladesh), Dr. Manzoor Ahmed (Chairperson, BEN) and Syeda Sazia Zaman (Member Secretary, BEN)  were present as special guests. Also present was Professor Syed Farhat Anwar (Vice-Chancellor, BracU).

For his lifelong contributions, M. Habibur Rahman (former Vice President, BEN and Education Adviser, Save the Children) was posthumously awarded. NGO Phulki was also awarded for their work on ECD care to children of garment workers. Plenary sessions were also hosted with keynote speakers from Asia-Pacific Regional Network for Early Childhood (ARNEC) and Early Childhood Development Action Network (ECDAN), all emphasizing on the urgency on this topic.