Home ›› 13 Aug 2021 ›› Front
The Ministry of Women and Children Affairs has undertaken a project to establish 8,000 childcare centres to offer daycare for kids below five years of age in 45 upazilas under 16 districts of eight divisions.
The project aims to create safe and reasonable care centres for children of 1 to 5 years old and provide swimming training to those 6 to 10 years of age, a senior official of the Planning Commission said on Thursday.
Non-government organisations will be appointed to operate these care centres.
The ministry has sent a proposal for the project titled “Integrated Community-based centre for childcare protection and swim-safe facilities” to the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) for approval.
The cost of the project is estimated at Tk 309.87 crore which will come from the government exchequer, Bloomberg Philanthropies and Royal National Lifeboat Institute. Bangladesh Shishu Academy will implement the project by June 2024.
“We have held a project evaluation committee meeting that has already cleared the project. Now it has been sent to ECNEC for approval,” said Tahmina Zakaria, deputy chief, Socio-Economic Infrastructure Division under the Planning Commission.
The centres will be established at Barguna, Bhola, Patuakhali under Barishal Division, Brahamanbaria, Chandpur, Laxmipur under Chattogram Division, Bagerhath, Satkhira under Khulna Division, Mymensingh, Netrokona and Sherpur under Mymensingh Division, Habiganj, Sunamganj under Sylhet Division, Narsingdhi in Dhaka Division, and Sirajganj and Nilphamari districts in Rajshahi and Rangpur Divisions respectively.
Under the project, 1600 children of 6-10 years old will get swimming training. It will also work for awareness building among the parents.
Some 14,000 children drown in the country every year. Of them, 10,000 are 1 to 4 years of age. More than 30 children drown every day.
According to the study titled “Bangladesh Health and Accident” conducted by the Health Directorate in 2016, the percentage of deaths among children of 1-9 years old is more in rural areas than that in urban vicinities.
