Dhaka home to 41% of country’s street children

Dhaka city is home to 41 per cent of the country’s street children, and the lion’s share – 37.8 per cent – left their home due to poverty and hunger. Moreover, among the homeless children in Bangladesh, an overwhelming 82 per cent are boys, and only 18 per cent are girls.

These are the findings of a Survey on Street Children 2022, published on Monday by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS), with support from UNICEF, and held at the BBS auditorium in Dhaka.

According to the study, 22.7 per cent of the street children are in Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC), and 18.3 per cent are in Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC).

Fifty-four per cent of the street children are aged between 10 to 14 years and 48.5 per cent street children between the ages of 5 and 17 are staying in the Dhaka Division. The survey also mentions that 64 per cent of street children do not want to return to their families.

Director of Demography and Health Wing of BBS, Md Mashud Alam said the sampling frame was formulated by conducting a quick count on street children aged 0 to 17 years across the country and aged 5 to 17 years in the second phase.

The survey findings are based on first-hand reports from a sample of 7,200 children aged 5-17 years in hotspots in Dhaka, and in the country’s eight divisions. The report however does not contain absolute figures.

Alam further said, “Number of street children is more boys than girls. The proportion is four boy children against a girl child. The average age of street children is 12.3 years.”

The results of the survey showed that the highest 20.4 per cent of street children came from the districts of Chattogram division and the lowest 4.9 per cent from the districts of Sylhet division.

Of the street children, 15.4 per cent came with their parents to the city, and 12.1 per cent left home in search of work. Two out of every five street children came to the city alone, the survey notes.

In this context, Mymensingh is the home district with the highest number of street children at 6.9 per cent, followed by Barishal at 5.9 per cent, Bhola 5.4 per cent, Cumilla 4.5 per cent, Kishoreganj 4.1 per cent and Cox’s Bazar 3.8 per cent.

Three out of ten street children never attended school.

Only 18.7 per cent of all street children pass Class V. A very small number of street children have studied in lower and higher secondary, the survey said, adding that about a quarter of street children smoke and 12 per cent are drug addicts.

Addressing the issue, Planning Minister MA Mannan said, “The ministry does not have updated official statistics on street children, and the BBS – as a national statistical agency – has filled that gap very efficiently.

“The data of this survey will now be helpful in making plans to improve the quality of life of street children. I am optimistic that the BBS will play a leading role in conducting such surveys in the future as required by the government.”

State Minister for Planning Prof Shamsul Alam said the survey is important to formulate further planning in the country.

Sheldon Yett, UNICEF Representative to Bangladesh, said, “The report findings are shocking. They tell us not only of the urgent work ahead, but also that the children living and working on the street need our empathy and support.”

Director General of BBS Md Matiar Rahman said the bureau is always working to prepare timely and reliable government statistics keeping in mind the needs of the nation.