Home : About MDG Portal : About SDNP : Contact Us

The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) opened its office in 1952 in what was then East Pakistan. Besides the Dhaka office, UNICEF has field presence in three Chittagong Hill Tracts districts, and in 17 district locations and the urban centres of Chittagong, Khulna, Rajshahi and Dhaka.

The 1996-2000 Bangladesh Country Programme of Cooperation seeks to bring all activities in line with the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Declaration and Plan of Action of the 1990 World Summit for Children, and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women. A budget of US$250 million was approved; US$80 million is sourced from General Resources and US$170 million needs to be raised through Supplementary Funds. UNICEF collaborates with a wide range of partners including line Ministries, local governments, communities, and 350 NGOs.
 

Objectives of the GOB-UNICEF Country Programme of Cooperation:

• To reduce infant and under-five child mortality rates by one-third or to 50 and 70 per 1,000 live births respectively, whichever is less;

• To reduce maternal mortality rate by half;

• To reduce severe and moderate malnutrition among under-five children by half;

• To provide universal access to safe drinking water and universal access to sanitary means of excreta disposal;

• To provide universal access to basic education and completion of primary education by at least 80% of primary school-age children;

• To provide improved protection of children in especially difficult circumstances; and

• To expand early childhood development activities, including appropriate low-cost family and community-based interventions.

In Health and Nutrition, the focus is on improving the quality of services for maternal and child health care, including building the capacity of some 60,000 health workers and 108,000 health outreach sites. There are three projects: Control of Major Childhood Diseases covering the Expanded Programme on Immunization reaching over 19 million children; Control of Diarrhoeal Diseases; and Acute Respiratory Infections. The Women and Maternal Health project upgrades and decentralises Emergency Obstetric Care facilities for some 3.8 million pregnant women through support for advocacy, training, and procurement of drugs and equipment. The Community Nutrition project provides support to the Bangladesh Integrated Nutrition Project, to the Bangladesh Breastfeeding Foundation, and to activities countering the harmful effects of iodine, iron, and vitamin A deficiencies.