BKMEA, Pathfinder to create awareness among workers

Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association and non-profit organisation, Pathfinder International, have joined hands to create awareness among workers at knitwear factories across the country regarding family planning and healthcare.

Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA) and Pathfinder International signed a memorandum of understanding in this regard in the capital on Saturday, said a press release.

BKMEA directors Fazlee Shamim Ehsan and Md Akhter Hossain Aupurbo represented the trade body at the signing ceremony. Pathfinder International’s senior country director Caroline Crosbie and family planning expert Mahbub Ul Alam represented the US based non-profit organisation at the ceremony.

According to the MoU, BKMEA and Pathfinder have plans to setup family planning corners at factories where there will be specialised doctors and nurses to provide information and necessary assistance regarding family planning and other healthcare issues.

Fazlee Shamim Ehsan on the occasion said that the trade body puts emphasise on family planning and other health related issues considering the large number of female employees working in knitwear factories. He said that giving importance to such factors will enhance production capacity of the factories.

He said that knitwear sector can play a pivotal role in Bangladesh’s way of becoming a developed country. The BKMEA director said that a large number of female workers are not aware of various health related issues which in turn hampers the production capacity in the sector indirectly.

Since the knitwear sector heavily relies on workers of whom sixty percent are women, the trade body runs various other programmes relating to women’s health. These programmes include Nutrition of Working Women, TB Control Programme, Awareness Campaign for the Female Garment Workers’ Menstrual Hygiene.

The joint programme will continue until June 30, 2023.