The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the British High Commission (BHC), jointly with the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW), on Tuesday co-hosted an event celebrating Bangladesh's progress over the last decade towards ending preventable deaths of mothers, newborns and children.
The 2012 Call to Action was a ground-breaking event that catalyzed a global movement to dramatically improve maternal and child survival, according to a press release.
Following Bangladesh's Call to Action launch ten years ago, the government reiterated its commitment to end preventable child deaths by 2035 by building on its previous successes in reducing child mortality.
This remains a priority for both USAID and the BHC, as evidenced by the UK's 2021 Ending Preventable Deaths of Mothers, Babies and Children approach and USAID's Getting to 2030: Maternal and Child Health and Nutrition Technical Roadmap and their annual Acting on the Call reports.
Dr Md Anwar Hossain Howlader, secretary of Health Service Division and Md Azizur Rahman, secretary of Medical Education and Family Welfare Division, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) spoke at the event, which was also attended by event development partners, NGOs, and members of academic institutions and professional organizations.
The event was organized to mark the 10th anniversary of the Child Survival Call to Action and USAID, Unicef and the governments of India, Senegal and the United Kingdom co-hosted a global celebration in Washington DC the same day.
The BHC Dhaka's Deputy High Commissioner and Development Director Matt Cannell noted: “The US and the UK are strong allies and we are joining forces to be an even more reliable and effective development partner for Bangladesh.”
USAID Bangladesh's Office of Population, Health and Nutrition's Deputy Office Director Marvin Crespin-Gamez highlighted: “Working together, we've seen how the Government of Bangladesh has intensified efforts to fulfil its commitment toward ending preventable maternal and newborn deaths to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 3 by 2030.”
