‘Sheikh Hasina a pillar of women’s rights’

The appreciation of Marie-Claude Bibeau, the moderator of the 5th Global Fund Replenishment Conference, came while inviting the Bangladesh premier to deliver her address in the event here on Friday, reports BSS. The Canadian minister said there is no need for introducing Sheikh Hasina afresh as she is the “pillar of South Asia in women rights and empowerment.” The two-day 5th Global Fund Replenishment Conference was kicked off at Hyatt Regency Montreal on Friday. The conference aimed at further gearing up efforts to end the epidemics of the world’s three most devastating diseases – AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria – by 2030. Apart from Sheikh Hasina, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Senegalese President Macky Sall, Togo President Faure Gnassingb, Executive Director of the Global Fund Mark R Dybul and Secretary-General of the International Organisation of La Francophonie Michaëlle Jean spoke at the opening session of the conference. Turning to the reflection on the commitments of her government in empowering and engaging girls and women, particularly in the health sector, Hasina mentioned three points. She said her government have firstly placed utmost importance on women’s education – the most “powerful tool” for empowering women. “We have made education free for girls up to 12 grade and introduced various types of stipends for them... this has not only resulted in significant improvement in school retention of girls but also reduced under-age marriage, maternal and child mortality,” she said. Secondly, she said, violence is seriously impacting physical and mental health of women. “We have been maintaining a ‘zero tolerance’ against all sorts of violence and discrimination against women,” she said. She said thirdly her government has set up more than sixteen thousand community clinics and union health centres to deliver quality health services in order to serve poor and marginalised sections of the people. “Most of the staff working in these clinics are women,” she said, adding 30 types of medicine are being provided free of cost from these centres. While addressing the conference, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina also urged the international community to work together with commitment, determination and solidarity to combat deadly diseases like AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis saying that these are preventable and treatable diseases. “I firmly believe that AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria are preventable and treatable. It needs commitment, determination and solidarity... let’s make a pledge to work together towards that end,” she said, reports UNB. The Global Fund is the world’s main funding body for activities related to the prevention and treatment of AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria. It supports programmes all over the world, with a focus on those areas where the burden of disease is the heaviest. Sheikh Hasina said health security is a critical aspect of development and access to healthcare is critically important for society. “It depends on poverty alleviation, food security and even climate change management,” she said adding that development of an equitable, affordable and sustainable health system for all remains a challenge,” she said. She said her government attaches top priority to health security by investing in health infrastructures, products and services. Hasina also sought the Global Fund support to her government’s strides to ensure health security for Bangladesh. The prime minister also pointed out the adoption of a landmark agenda for sustainable development in 2015 with a vision to create a poverty-free healthy global society. Mentioning her government’s move towards elimination of malaria by 2020, she said Bangladesh is maintaining low prevalence rate in HIV/AIDS for the last two decades and several institutional approaches have been undertaken in this regard. She termed the role of international partners, including Global Fund, in strengthening Bangladesh’s health sector as a significant contribution. She said the maternal mortality ratio has declined by 70% while the under-five mortality rate has reduced by 66% and the infant mortality rate by 62% during last one and a half decades.