Speakers at a discussion in the capital’s Central Shaheed Minar on Thursday said a nation's sustainable future fully depended on how healthy the nation's community is.
They made the remarks at a discussion titled “Walk the Talk” to commemorate World Population Day-2024 organised by The Bangladesh Medical Students’ Society (BMSS), with the support of the World Health Organization (WHO) Bangladesh.
The theme of this year’s event was 'Healthy Life, Healthy Family', emphasising the importance of health and wellbeing in family life.
Dr Abu Jamil Faisel, Member, EC, Public Health Association of Bangladesh, Public Health Foundation chairperson Dr Aftab Uddin and Public Health State University Pro- Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Nawzia Yasmin spoke in the discussion.
Dr Abu Jamil Faisal said in his speech, “Healthy life means not being fit physically; healthy means fit both physically and mentally. Not only if you are health conscious yourself. Everyone in society should be health conscious.
“Because sustainable development is only possible if the family, society as a whole is health conscious.”
He added, “The rate of adolescent pregnancy is too much in our country. There are many reasons behind this. Child marriage is one of them. We should be careful about child marriage because it is one of the main obstacles for a healthy nation.”
Public Health Foundation chairperson Dr Aftab Uddin said, “For a sustainable future we should monitor the present and future needs of our community. To gain a sustainable goal, the environment condition of the society is the main fact.
“Everything is changing depending on climate change. We should think about this.”
Public Health State University Pro-Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Nawzia Yasmin said, child marriage, family planning, gender discrimination and poverty are the cause of over population in our country. We can't solve the problem alone.
“In this regard, we have to include everyone to solve the problem. We should do an inclusive campaign.”
President of BMSS Dr Asadur Rahman Nobin presided over the programme.
Following the speeches, participants commenced the walk from Central Shaheed Minar to TSC, symbolizing unity and collective action towards a healthier future. The walk aimed to raise awareness about health and family planning issues among the general public, with participants carrying banners and placards conveying messages about healthy living.
Around 5,000 medical students from 40 medical colleges across the country participated in the event.
Moreover, similar events took place in all divisions of Bangladesh, engaging local stakeholders. These events aimed to create widespread community awareness about the importance of health and family planning.
Medical students from local colleges collaborated with regional health officials, non-governmental organizations, and community leaders to organize awareness programs, competition, cricket matches, health camps, and educational workshops.
