UNICEFBangladeshIssue 7, September 2007

Almost 11 million people were affected by the recent floods in Bangladesh.UNICEF Representative Louis-Georges Arsenault is pictured assisting with thedistribution of high nutrition biscuits, plastic sheets for shelter, family kits, medicalsupplies and safe water in Sirajganj. Support will continue as people begin to movehome to rebuild their lives.Photos by: Salma Siddique and Naser Siddique, Kiron/Map

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Relief supplies provided to flood-affected communities

The devastation caused by the monsoon flooding of lastmonth is visible throughout Bangladesh, but nowhere morethan on the faces of the survivors themselves in Sirajganj, aflood-stricken northwestern district.

Although the flood waters have begun to recede, for many theonly place they can still call home is the edge of anembankment, one of the few spots high enough to escape thewater that submerged the surrounding villages and destroyedtheir homes and livelihoods.

Almost 11 million people in 47 districts of Bangladesh havebeen affected by the recent floods. Reports indicate 840deaths from the flooding, most of them children with about90 per cent of the flood related deaths caused by drowning. Inhard-hit areas, children are also suffering from hunger andunder-nutrition.

A coordinated UN response has provided essentialmedications, including a special paediatric medication, tothose suffering in the flood-affected areas.

In Sirajganj, UNICEF is also workingclosely with the World FoodProgramme and non-governmentalorganisations to provide emergencysupplies such as high-protein biscuitsto communities affected by theemergency. These highly nutritiousBP5 biscuits have reachedapproximately 51,000 childrenbetween 6 and 36 months and 25,000pregnant and lactating mothers.

"I know that the biscuits are nutritiousand my child needs to eat them," saidone young mother here, Reshma, 18."My family is having a lot ofproblems finding food, as I do nothave a job and my husband cannot dohis normal work."

Basic shelter and protectionReshma has been living on the embankment with her 18-month-old son Hriday and her husband's family. Hertemporary shelter consists of a cramped, makeshift tin shed.

Sonika, 30, is also living on the embankment with her threechildren and husband. "My husband is a rickshaw puller andcurrently he has no work," she said. "The staff here gave me areceipt to come and collect these biscuits. I am so happybecause my child is very hungry and now he will havesomething to eat."

In another community in the Bayaitara area of Sirajganj, floodsurvivors have been forced to live at the edge of a dam. Manyof these villagers have little material with which to build their

shelters and no protection from the rainy weather.

"We had to borrow some plastic from our neighbour becausewe had no shelter," explained one displaced resident. "I donot have a tin shed but now I am very happy because we canmake our shelter from this plastic sheet."

UNICEF has also been distributing kits filled with basicnecessities such as sleeping mats, bed sheets, washingpowder, water purification tablets and towels. For Salam, 43,Halima, 25 and their two sons this made their livingconditions a lot more bearable in their community shelter.

"Before we were sleeping on the ground and often the groundwould be muddy from too much rain. The sleeping mats havemade so much difference because we have somewhere dry tosleep," said Halima.

Ongoing crisis responseIn the aftermath of the initial crisis, the most urgent needs arefor food, safe drinking water, sanitation facilities and shelter.

Along with the Department of PublicHealth and Engineering, UNICEF hasdeployed 10 mobile water treatmentplants for communities in need of safewater.

As the stagnant and dirty flood watersrecede slowly in different parts of thecountry, an increasing number ofchildren are becoming affected bydiseases. There have been 123,000reported cases of diarrhoea, howeverthanks to the widespread availabilityof oral rehydration salts to treatdiarrhoeal dehydration, the number ofdeaths caused by diarrhoea is low.

UNICEF Representative inBangladesh Louis-Georges Arsenault,

said, "Of course we also need to look at the medium to longterm effects of an emergency such as a flood and that's whengetting children back to school becomes a priority."

Studies have shown that weak nutrition in children not onlyexposed them to water-borne diseases long after the floodswere over, but also caused longer term conditions such asnight blindness. Children under 5 across the country willreceive one dose of Vitamin A in the upcoming NID onOctober 27 to help fight night blindness and othernutritional deficiencies.

Children of displaced families require special attention as itis anticipated that some families will take longer to returnhome and rebuild their lives.

Donor: Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA)

"Our major response in any emergencyis to save the lives of women and

children and that's why we have beenconcentrating our efforts as part of a

coordinated UN response on providingessential drugs, including paediatricmedication which have been funded

though the generous support of CIDA,the Canadian International

Development Agency."- Louis-Georges Arsenault

UNICEF Representative in Bangladesh

-Cate Heinrich

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"This is my daughter's birth registration certificate," saidproud mother Mosamath Sitara, 20, while holding herdaughter Sumaia's laminated birth certificate card. "Nowmy daughter is eligible to get access to all governmentfacilities. She will be able to enrol in school and receivesupport and protection," Sitara explained.

With the help of Zanatul Fardiuos, a health worker of theRajshahi City Corporation, Sitara organised her daughter'sbirth registration. She also ensured birth registration ofher second child within 45 days of his birth.

Mimi Begum, 18, Zarina Khatun, 21, and many othermothers surrounded us when we reached Girail, a suburbarea of Rajshahi city situated in the northern part ofBangladesh. All of their children had birth registrationcertificates. Zanatul Fardiuos had convinced these womenabout the importance of birth registration for thebetterment of their children.

"As a health worker it is my responsibility to visit everyhousehold in the Girail area to ensure basic healthservices for all pregnant women. They trust me as a friendand a well wisher. While giving health services I also helpparents and other family members to decide on a namefor the baby so that they can get the baby's birthregistered within 45 days," said Zanatul.

Targeting pregnant women encourages birthregistration

Dr. Rezvi Sulata, the Chief health officer, has led theRajshahi City Corporation in its campaign to achieve onehundred per cent birth registration. "Initially our activitieswere very much centralised; parents had to come to theCity Corporation office to obtain a birth registrationcertificate which was extremely time consuming,"explained Dr. Rizvi.

In order to make the process simpler, the City

Corporation decentralised administrative responsibility tothe Ward Commissioner Office. "The idea of involvingpregnant women as a strategy in achieving one hundredper cent birth registration came about as the healthworkers conduct house to house visits to provide basichealth services for pregnant women. We involved themwith the birth registration activities and now we can seethe result," said Dr. Rizvi.

"In my constituency all children have been registered.People are aware of the benefit of birth registration," saidMd. Nizam Al Amin, a ward commissioner from theRajshahi City Corporation.

Rajshahi City Corporation is one of the fewconstituencies which has achieved 85 per cent birthregistration of children under 18 years old.

Universal Birth Registration for every citizen

Currently the rate of birth registration in Bangladesh isaround seven to ten per cent. The Government aims toachieve one hundred per cent birth registration through itsUniversal Birth Registration strategy, with the help ofpartners such as UNICEF. The Government ofBangladesh officially declared 3 July 2007 as BirthRegistration Day to highlight the importance of birthregistration for every child and adult in the country.

Birth registration becomes a means of securing rightssuch as access to services and state benefits:immunisation, health care and education. For children itbecomes a protection tool by providing legal age limits toprevent child employment, child marriage, commercialsexual exploitation, children in conflict with the law andchild trafficking.

Donors: European Commission, NetherlandsGovernment, Netherlands National Committee

Mothers the driving force for UniversalBirth Registration

Sumaia (left)proudly displaysher birthregistrationcertificate whichwill provide herwith the right toeducation andhealth services.

-Arifa S. Sharmin

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Teenager Afzal Hossain Roni finds solace when he restshis head on his mother's lap. For speech impaired Roni, itgives him a feeling of not only comfort, but also security,protection and care.

This and many more issues came to light when childrenaged between 10 and 15 were brought together to takepart in an art competition held at the Bangladesh ShishuAcademy (BSA) in Bhola at the southern tip of thecountry to paint pictures on the theme, 'Mother andChild'.

Even for Roni, who clinched the first prize in thecompetition, this theme did not take long to crystallise asmost children - irrespective of their physical andintellectual state - can readily connect between their lifeand that of their mother's.

Altogether 30 participants took part in the competitionthat was organised on the eve of the sub-national launchof the State of the World's Children 2007 report in thisisland district on June 17. Among them, 20 were fromdifferent primary and secondary schools, five from aspecialised school for the speech and hearing impaired,and the remaining five from a school for the mentally andphysically challenged.

Respective school teachers, BSA and districtadministration officials held a planning meeting a fewdays ahead of the event.

"But during that meeting, some officials were reluctant tohave physically and intellectually challenged childrenonboard as they thought it would breed uneven

competition. However, they ultimately had to give in tothe insistence of the school teachers and guardians of thespecial-needs children," according to a participant at themeeting.

Finally, when the finished works of the children were putunder scrutiny of a three-member jury board it becameclear that disability made no difference in picturing themother and child bond. In fact, two among the fourwinning paintings were the works of physically andintellectually challenged students.

Other than Roni, another prize-winning painting wassubmitted by Zahid, also an intellectually challengedchild. In his painting one could see a mother (and father)protecting the child from natural disasters that are all toocommon for islands like Bhola.

The paintings not only displayed the universal mother-child bond; they also epitomised the mother as thegreatest caregiver and protector in addition to portrayingher in multiple roles as working woman, nurse,homemaker, wife, guide and teacher, signifying thechanging gender roles of women in society.

But surprisingly enough, while projecting mothers insuch diverse roles, the spirit of care and protection that amother enshrines was not lost in the maze of bold coloursand brave brush-stokes.

A member of the jury said, "It was amply demonstratedthrough the artworks that whatever is good for the motherwas eventually good for the child and vice versa."

Colourful defiance of disability-Iftikhar Ahmed Chowdhury

Two of the prize-winning paintings by Afzal Hossain Roni and Zahid which portray their ideas on 'Mother and Child.'

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The Director General of the Australian Government's aidagency, AusAID, and UNICEF signed an agreementworth Tk. 336 million (AUS $6 million) on June 10 tosupport primary education in Bangladesh.

Under this agreement AusAID through UNICEF willsupport the Government's Second Primary EducationDevelopment Programme (PEDP-II) from July 2007 untilJune 2010. The Australian Government already providedTk. 266 million (AUS $5.9 million) for the period July2004 - June 2007 for the same programme.

Bruce Davis, Director General of AusAID and Louis-Georges Arsenault, UNICEF Representative inBangladesh signed the agreement in Raiganj during ajoint mission to observe education activities in the field.

The signing ceremony was attended by UNICEF Chief ofEducation, Nabendra Dahal, Chief of Health andNutrition, Iyorlumun J Uhaa, Chief of Communication &Information, Kirsty McIvor, as well as UNICEF projectofficers and representatives from AusAID.

PEDP-II aims to ensure quality of primary education forALL children in the country through increasing primaryschool access, participation and completion. Theprogramme is implemented in all the 64 districts ofBangladesh covering approximately 17.7 million childrenand 315,500 teachers in 65,000 schools.

The PEDP-II was launched in September 2004 by theGovernment of Bangladesh and is a coordinated andintegrated sub sector-wide programme with technical andfinancial assistance from a consortium of 11 donors.

AusAID officials were given the opportunity to observe

the field level implementation of the PEDP-II duringtheir field visit to Raiganj, three hours north of Dhaka.They visited the Primary Training Institute (PTI) wherein-service training of teachers, training of trainers andclassroom teacher practice takes place.

The team also observed school activities and classroomteaching and learning methods at Dhangora Governmentprimary school in Raiganj. PEDP-II has assisted thisschool in constructing additional classrooms, increasingstaff numbers, providing in-service training of teachersand supplementary reading materials and training oftrainers on subject based training.

UNICEF-AusAID support will mainly focus ondeveloping and piloting training packages for teachersand supervisors and developing quality trainers,demonstrating innovative ideas for participatory planningand management of schools and initiating primaryeducation for disadvantaged children. Multi-channelcommunication and social mobilization activities will beorganised for the target audiences. All the innovations areexpected to be gradually scaled up countrywide by thegovernment.

In addition to this funding the Government of Australiawill significantly increase its engagement in theeducation sector of Bangladesh. The AustralianGovernment's 2006 White Paper Australian Aid:Promoting Growth and Stability aims at doubling its totaloverseas aid to around $4 billion annually by 2010.

Donor: AusAID

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Australia continues support to primaryeducation in Bangladesh

UNICEF Representative in Bangladesh, Louis-GeorgesArsenault (left) and Director General of AusAID, BruceDavis, sign the A$6 million agreement to support primaryeducation in Bangladesh.

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For many girls in Bangladesh there are few options whenthey stop their education before completing or evenbeginning high school. They face the prospect of workingin their own home or getting married and working intheir husband's in-laws' household. Many are pregnantwith their first child before the age of 18.

So it was with a mixture of excitement and anticipationthat Rozina Akter and Doly Das, both 15, began theirfirst day of technical training on sewing and embroideryat a Job Opportunities and Business Support (JOBS)centre near Chittagong in South East Bangladesh. Rozinaand Doly were forced to drop out of school aftercompleting grade five as their parents could no longerafford to keep them in school.

"I heard about the training at my Kishori Abhijanadolescent centre," says Doly. "At this centre I get timeto talk to other adolescents my own age and I enjoy this,otherwise I stay at home and get lonely because I cannotgo to school. After I complete this garment training I willbe able to earn some money on a contract basis and thiswill help my family."

Rozina adds, "Hopefully I will be able to purchase asewing machine when I complete my training and workfrom home. I usually must stay in the house but it is goodto be able to leave and learn new things."

This UNICEF-supported training project aims to createsustainable employment options for deprived, "at risk"

adolescent girls. To create a supportive environment, it isvital to engage the adolescents' parents. Throughdiscussion these adults become more aware of criticalfactors affecting adolescents' lives and support key issueswhich helps delay the age of marriage and protects themfrom abuse and violence.

The Kishori Abhijan (adolescent empowerment) projectshares life skills with 600,000 girls and boys nationally.More than 8000 adolescents have received livelihood andeconomic skills training in areas including journalism,photography, garments and computer skills.

Doly's mother Brihothopoti Das, 30, is aware of thebenefits of her daughter receiving livelihood skillstraining. "My daughter will be much more self-sufficientwhen she completes the training," she says.

"Before Doly did not have much courage," explainsBrihothopoti. "But then she started going to theadolescent centre and she gained so much confidence. Iam happy to see her learning something new because shewill be proud of herself and I will also feel proud."Brihothopoti is a member of the mothers' club thatregularly holds yard meetings to discuss the issues facingtheir children. All the participants in Brihothopoti's grouphave committed to no marriage for their daughters beforethey are 18 years old.

Rozina's father Md. Jahamal Akter, 38, believes thesewing and embroidery training will help Rozina in herfuture life. "Rozina is more informed about differentissues when she attends her adolescent centre. One dayRozina will marry someone either rich or poor, I don'tknow what will happen, and if she learns these skills thenshe will always be able to support herself."

UNICEF child protection officer, Mads Sorensen, saysthat motivating parents is an important first step togaining adolescent empowerment. "The parents,especially the fathers, are the decision makers for theseadolescents. If they are informed about the benefits ofallowing their daughters to be engaged in training thatwill earn them money then these girls will have astronger chance of gaining permission to participate andthe ability to increase their self-esteem and skilldevelopment. When girls have this opportunity there isless incentive for their parents to organise their marriageat such a young age."

Donors: European Commission, US Fund for UNICEF,Netherlands National Committee

Parental involvement key foradolescent empowerment

Doly Das (left) and Rozina Akter practise their embroideryskills at a UNICEF-supported training centre nearChittagong.

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Stranded in Chittagong: an Australianyouth ambassador's experienceAs we got closer to Chittagong city, a porttown five hours south of Dhaka, the rainbecame heavier. We had planned to reachChittagong before dark on the 10 June butwith the storm clouds rolling in, it alreadyseemed much later. It looked as thoughBangladesh's monsoonal season haddefinitely arrived.

I was on my way to Bandarban, one of thedistricts of the Chittagong Hill Tracts, tovisit the para centres with Quamruzzaman,an early learning project officer. Anovernight stay in Chittagong meant it wouldbe a quick drive in the morning to our firstdestination in Bandarban. So we weren't tooworried about the rain. This was normal forBangladesh and as soon as it stopped the road wouldclear and we would continue on our way to the hill tractsthe next morning.

However, the rain didn't stop during the night asexpected. In fact it got worse. The next morningeveryone was in shock, approximately 80 people haddied overnight when a landslide collapsed onto theirshanty homes at the base of a hill. No one knew howmany people were killed; they were still buried under themud and debris.

Muktadir, our UNICEF driver, took one look at the roadin front of the hotel and said we would have to wait, itwas impossible to even reverse the car until some of thewater drained away. Everywhere we looked, people werefighting against the rain, trying to get to where they weregoing by wading through knee deep water, holding anumbrella in a desperate attempt to keep a part ofthemselves dry or sitting on a rickshaw covered in a rainsheet as their rickshaw sped through the water a lot easierthan the cars.

We decided to make our way to the Chittagong districtUN office so that we could monitor the weather and seewhat the conditions were like in Bandarban. By this timecommunication was becoming difficult - landlines weredown, mobile networks unavailable, TV cables out ofservice and no internet access. The UN radio controller,Shahbuddin, made a call to the Bandarban UNICEFoffice.

It was not good news. The Bandarban district programmeofficer was stranded in a nearby district and could notreturn to Bandarban. Chittagong airport had closed, trainswere suspended and the highway leading back to Dhaka

was also partially underwater. As we watched thespectacular lightening and thunderstorm outside, itbecame glaringly obvious. We weren't going to bemoving anywhere that day.

Later in the morning we didn't need to go far to see thesituation. Low-lying roads were now rivers, traffic hadcome to a standstill and some brave people wereattempting to cross the flooded part of the road ahead,although few with success.

For me it was the first time I had seen an area floodedand I thought my colleague, Quamruzzaman, andMuktadir would be more used to this kind of weather.But they were as surprised as me with how quicklyChittagong city became paralysed following the 24 hoursof continual rain. Shops and schools were closed andabout one-third of the city was now under one metre ormore of water.

Driving back to our hotel we slowed down to cross asmall bridge. A gathering of people were standing righton the very edge. "A car washed over the bridge," calledout one of the men. Muktadir asked if anyone wasinjured. The men held up two fingers. Two dead.

A little further along we noticed more homes built rightat the bottom of a hill where part of the hillside had beenillegally cleared away. We couldn't help thinking whetherthese might be the next houses to disappear if the raincontinued.

We started the slow and long journey back to Dhaka thenext day. It was still raining. And it wouldn't stop for thenext three days. More than 100 people would die. One ofthe worse storms to hit Chittagong in decades - and notone that I would forget in a hurry.

-Cate Heinrich

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In Bangladesh about four in ten infants aged 0-5 monthsare exclusively breastfed; eight out of ten householdsconsume iodised salt; approximately eight in ten primaryschool aged children attend school; and about nine in tenchildren aged 12-23 months are protected against measlesthrough immunisation.

However, only two in ten women are assisted by skilledbirth attendants during delivery; only one in ten womenaged 15-49 years has a comprehensive knowledge ofHIV/AIDS; and four in ten households have access toimproved sanitation.

These were some of the key findings revealed by theBangladesh Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS)2006 report that was launched in Dhaka on the 25 July.MICS is an international household survey designed byUNICEF to assist countries in filling data gaps formonitoring human development in general and thesituation of children and women in particular.

UNICEF Representative in Bangladesh, Louis-GeorgesArsenault, at the launch said, "The MICS as well as othernational household surveys continue to provide updatedinformation to monitor Bangladesh's progress on theMillennium Development Goals. This report isparticularly important because it is the only nationalhousehold survey in Bangladesh that disaggregates datadown to the district level."

The MICS was developed by UNICEF in the mid-1990sfor assisting countries to monitor their humandevelopment. UNICEF has been working closely andregularly with the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS)to conduct the MICS on a regular basis. The BBScollected information from over 62,000 households forthe MICS 2006.

Major improvements in consumption of iodised salt andimmunisation are evident in the latest report. Household

iodised salt consumption rate rose from 70 per cent in thelast MICS data from 2003 to 84 per cent in the MICS2006. Similarly, the proportion of 12-23 month-oldsimmunised against measles increased from 83 per cent to87 per cent during the same period.

Bangladesh needs to catch up on some of the keyMillennium Development Goal indicators though,including delivery assisted by skilled birth attendantswhich remains at 20 per cent and access to improvedsanitation coverage which is still at 39 per cent.

However, the Department of Public Health andEngineering (DPHE) has set a target of reaching fullsanitation coverage by 2010 and places the sanitationcoverage figure at 82 per cent. The reason for adifference in the MICS and DPHE data is due to thequality of the latrines that are considered as improvedsanitation.

"While achievements in certain areas are encouraging,such as in child health, nutrition and education, we mustnot overlook the challenges that these findings show us.We need to ensure positive strides are made on areaswhere we are still lagging behind," said Mr. Louis-Georges Arsenault.

The MICS report is published under the title ProgotirPathey (The Way to Progress) and is available on theBBS website (www.bbs.gov.bd).

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Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS)report is launched

Some of the major findings of the MICSsurvey include:

• 7 in 10 women interviewed live in rural areas

• 3 in 10 women had no education at all

• Only 1 in 10 women aged 15-49 years had acomprehensive knowledge of HIV/AIDS

• 7 in 10 girls below 18 years old are married

• 1 in 10 under-five year old births are registered

• 4 in 10 households has access to improvedsanitation

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Ghanaian representatives observewater and sanitation programmes UNICEF Bangladesh welcomed a team of governmentofficials and a UNICEF representative from Ghana on the25 June for a 10 day mission to observe progress in thecountry's water and sanitation sector.

The 11 member team was keen to learn how Bangladeshaddresses the issue of sanitation, through projects such asUNICEF's Sanitation, Hygiene Education and WaterSupply in Bangladesh (SHEWA-B). Until recently theemphasis in Ghana was mainly on the issue of access tosafe water but now the emphasis is changing to look atsanitation options as well.

Ghana's Deputy Regional Minister, Hon. Osei AssibeyAntwi, said, "We realized our health focus was oncurative projects and we decided it was necessary tospend more money on the preventative, to stop thediseases first. Bangladesh has done well in a short periodof time to increase their sanitation so we wanted to studythe system and use their experience in water andsanitation to help develop our programmes in Ghana."

UNICEF water and sanitation staff accompanied theGhanaian group to Chuadanga district, five hours west ofDhaka, to see how different parts of the SHEWA-Bproject have been implemented at the community level,including sanitation promotion community discussionsand student hygiene brigades, as well as meeting with theDepartment of Public Health and Engineering (DPHE).SHEWA-B works to improve hygiene behaviours throughraising awareness, improving access to water andsanitation facilities and ensuring a more supportive localgovernment.

"When we met with the adolescent girls and children wecould see that they own the training and are practising thehygiene behaviours they have learnt. They reallyunderstand the importance of changing their community'ssanitation behaviours," said UNICEF project officer,Fostor Kojo Soley. "Bangladesh's community-centredapproach is targeted at the poor and this is essential sothat everyone has access to sanitation facilities."

Bangladesh is recognized as a country that has thepolitical will and commitment to improve the water andsanitation sector, and a good track record of progress.From 1971 to 2004, the numbers of children under fivewho died annually from diarrhoea in Bangladeshdecreased by 86 per cent.

"There is a political commitment towards sanitation inBangladesh and this has been translated into a NationalStrategy. Ghana doesn't have a National Strategy so thisis one area that we will work on," said TheodoraAdomako-Adjei from the Community Water andSanitation Agency.

UNICEF's water and sanitation project has benefited 8.4million people in rural Bangladesh through theinstallation of water points and latrines and a further500,000 people in urban slums have benefited fromUNICEF's Environmental Sanitation, Hygiene and WaterSupply in Urban Slums and Fringes project.

A key feature of the urban slums and fringes project is totrain adolescent girls to understand the links betweenbetter hygiene and better health. These girls formcommunity hygiene monitoring groups to promote betterhygiene within their communities and monitor theirneighbours' behaviours. The School Sanitation andHygiene also improves water supply and sanitationfacilities in primary schools and helps students learnbetter hygiene practices, so that they can then spreadthose messages in their community.

"Studies have indicated that Bangladesh is a leader incommunity-led water and sanitation programmes and wehad the opportunity to learn what is being done, learnfrom the experience and now we will be able to use thesenew ideas in Ghana," said Theodora Adomako-Adjei.

Members of the Ghanaian team observe a communitymeeting in Chuadanga district where a CommunityHygiene Promoter educates her neighbours about thehealth benefits of improved hygiene.

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Before the outbreak of avian influenza in Bangladeshduring March 2007, trainings were taking placethroughout the country to educate its journalists on thedisease. Now the need for journalists to know how toreport to the public on this issue is even greater.

So far, around 700 journalists have participated in thethree day training on "Avian Influenza and PandemicInfluenza Awareness and Preparedness." All 64 districtswill be covered over the comingweeks with 32 trainingsnationally involving more than1200 journalists from both printand electronic media.

Mukul Kumar Mallick, DistrictCorrespondent for The DailySangbad newspaper, says thetraining is of utmost importancein his district of Gazipur. "Mostpoultry farmers read anewspaper or hear the news soif we highlight the major pointson how they can protectthemselves from avian influenzathen everybody will benefit.

"There are 4000 commercialpoultry farms located here inGazipur and they supply most ofthe meat and eggs to other areas.We need to protect this supplyfor the people and the economy.Our first priority is to get themessage to the public on whatbird flu is and how they can be protected from thisdisease."

The training in Gazipur was led by Dr. Md. Abu HadiNoor Ali Khan, Associate Professor at BangladeshAgricultural University, and involved 40 journalists fromtwo districts. Dr. Khan believes that journalists' trainingis vital in order for direct messages to reach the public.

"Journalists are the only way that we can deliverinformation to the public and poultry workers," heexplains. "It's impossible to bring everyone here butjournalists have the ability to broadcast this information toeveryone to help prevent the spread of avian influenza."

"I hope the participants will understand the risk of avianinfluenza and what will happen if there is a human case. Iwant them to relay the messages to the farmers on howthey can stop the disease spreading and for them not toget afraid or scared."

UNICEF and the Government of Japan are supportingthese trainings throughout Bangladesh to ensure that alljournalists understand the basics of avian influenza, they

have up-to-date facts on thedisease and their reporting willbe accurate.

Mohammed Alizheelon, a NewAge newspaper journalist, says,"Gazipur is the poultry capitalof Bangladesh and is vulnerableto bird flu. We are going toshow that Gazipur can be a rolemodel and teach the peoplehow they can protectthemselves against this diseaseand stop the spread of thevirus."

UNICEF, on behalf of the UN,is leading the communicationeffort on avian and pandemicinfluenza in Bangladesh. Inconjunction with its partners,the Government of Bangladesh,FAO and WHO, UNICEF hasdeveloped and implementedcommunication activities toinform the public, and

stakeholders, on necessary actions to help limit the spreadof the disease.

In addition to these communication materials, UNICEF issupporting the training of key spokespeople as well asfront-line workers who will help create awareness among28 million people at the community level in Bangladesh.Folk theatre productions emphasising avian influenzaprevention in local dialects are also being rolled outacross the country through 1000 performances at thegrass roots level.

Donor: Government of Japan

Journalists trained nation-wide on bird flu

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UNICEF Bangladesh's immunisation programme hasbeen given a boost thanks to the Dhaka Sheraton hoteldonating 770,000 taka (US$11,325) in August as part ofits Check out for Children programme. This means manymore children will be given a better chance of survivalwhen they receive their vaccines for preventable diseasesstill present in Bangladesh.

Mr. Louis-Georges Arsenault, UNICEF Representative inBangladesh, at the handover ceremony said, "UNICEFgreatly values the partnership with the Starwood Hotelsand Resorts Worldwide and with Dhaka Sheraton. Themoney raised will be utilised to immunise childrenagainst six major killer diseases. There is no better wayto invest in child health and child survival."

The partnership between Sheraton hotels and UNICEF isongoing and fundraising efforts, through its Check out forChildren campaign, contribute to immunising childrenagainst diseases such as polio, diphtheria, tetanus,tuberculosis and measles. Every time a guest checks outof a Sheraton or Starwood hotel, they are invited todonate US$1 to UNICEF and then every year this moneyis given to UNICEF to support immunisationprogrammes.

Mr. Trevor McDonald, Dhaka Sheraton Hotel GeneralManager, said UNICEF's immunisation programme"saves lives and is essential to provide children with abasic start in life, without which children would neversurvive, let alone have the chance to go to school orbenefit from the opportunities that life presents."

Earlier this year Mr. McDonald had the opportunity toparticipate in a polio National Immunisation Day and

observe various urban and rural vaccination sites. He wasable to help administer polio vaccines to children duringthis trip to Tangail, about three hours north of Dhaka.

Mr. McDonald was amazed at the logistics involved for aNID to reach 22 million children in the country. "Theinfrastructure required is enormous with so manythousands of volunteers needed to provide thesevaccinations across the entire country. Everyone realisesthe importance of the NID," he said. It involvesapproximately 700,000 volunteers nationwide at 120,000sites to make the NIDs happen in Bangladesh.

UNICEF supports the Government of Bangladesh withthe NIDs and the Expanded Programme onImmunisation. Part of this work is through the GlobalPolio Eradication Initiative, which works around theworld to reduce the incidence of polio. The GPEI hasreduced the incidence of polio by more than 99 per centsince its launch in 1988, from 350,000 annual cases to2000 cases in 2006.

Dhaka Sheraton Hotel plans to organise anotherfundraising event this year with a Concert for Children.The money raised from this event will also be used forUNICEF's programmes to help immunise children inBangladesh.

Globally in the past 11 years, the Check out for Childrenprogramme has raised more than US$16 million forUNICEF to immunise children against preventablediseases. For every $1 million raised, 55,000 children areimmunised which means thanks to this programme nearly800,000 children have been immunised.

Dhaka Sheraton continues support forimmunisation programmes

Sheraton Dhaka

General

Manager, Mr.

Trevor McDonald,

hands over a

cheque to

UNICEF

Representative in

Bangladesh, Mr.

Louis-Georges

Arsenault, as part

of the Check out

for Children

fundraising effort.© U

NIC

EF/

Sal

ma

Sid

diqu

e

Editor: Kirsty McIvor (kmcivor@unicef.org), Contributors: Cate Heinrich, Arifa S. Sharmin, Iftikhar Ahmed ChowdhuryCover photo: © Kiron/Map/UNICEF, Design: Makhles/UNICEF

September 24 Meena DayA celebration to recognise the impact Meena, South Asia's animated girlcharacter, has had on improving gender equality.

September State of the World's Children 2007 sub-national launches

September German National Committee visit

October State of the World's Children 2007 sub-national launches

October Meena Media AwardsTo acknowledge excellence in electronic, print and folk media that is for,and about, children.

October 27 Polio National Immunisation Day

October French National Committee visit

October 26-30 Starwood Alliance visitMembers of the Starwood Alliance will visit immunisation projects inBangladesh.

November 17 National launch of the UN International Year of Sanitation 2008

December 9 International Children's Day of BroadcastingThis year's theme is "The World We Want."

December State of the World's Children 2008 national launch

Coming Events