State Minister Simeen emphasises smart children for smart Bangladesh
Nurturing smart children is essential for building a smart Bangladesh, said Women and Children Affairs State Minister Simeen Hussain (Rimi) on Thursday.
The state minister said this at the inauguration ceremony of the Bridging Leadership Initiative of the Integrated Community Based Center for Child Care, Protection and Swim-Safe Facilities Project at Hotel InterContinental in Dhaka.
The Tk271.82 crore project aims to provide integrated early childhood development services to children.
During her inaugural address, the state minister said that the project will help create employment for women at the community level and help develop children mentally and physically.
The event was chaired by Ministry of Women and Children Affairs Secretary Nazma Mobarek, with Peggy Dulany, founder and chair of Synergos, attending as a special guest.
Implemented from January 1, 2022, to December 31, 2024, the project is jointly funded by the Government of Bangladesh (Tk217.61 crore) and UNICEF (Tk54.21 crore). Implementation partners include Bloomberg Philanthropies and the Royal National Lifeboat Institution.
The project's primary objective is to reduce child mortality and ensure the overall development, security, safety and care of children by providing early childhood development, education and care.
The ICBC project provides development-appropriate services to children under 5 years of age during the day's highest risk period; provides centre-based integrated ECCD services for children aged 1-5 years; provides safe swimming education for children aged 6-10 years; capacity building of various organisations working on ECCD; and provides training on best practices for child development and protection and awareness raising.