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World Bank Grants $210M to Bangladesh For Women, Children

The project will contribute to early childhood development by supporting the expansion and strengthening of the government’s existing social protection program…reports Asian Lite News

The World Bank has approved 210 million U.S. dollars for a Bangladeshi project to provide cash transfers and counseling services to improve nutrition and directly benefit about 1.7 million pregnant women and mothers of children under four years in vulnerable households.

Under current education and health systems, a child born in Bangladesh would only be 46 percent as productive as they could potentially be, Abdoulaye Seck, World Bank country director for Bangladesh and Bhutan, said in a statement Wednesday, Xinhua news agency reported.

“But this can be changed. Ensuring adequate nutrition prenatally and in the first 1,000 days of life, and responsive caregiving throughout childhood, help maximize a child’s brain development and health. This enables them to be more productive and earn more when they grow up. The project will help poor mothers be informed on timely and appropriate care for their children and provide income support to act on that learning to improve their children’s health and wellbeing,” said Seck.

Despite significant gains in human development, poor nutrition and learning poverty among children remain a pressing challenge in Bangladesh and were exacerbated during COVID-19 lockdowns.

This has long-term implications for children’s cognitive development and their future productivity. The project will contribute to early childhood development by supporting the expansion and strengthening of the government’s existing social protection program, the Mother and Child Benefit Program.

Local currency card

Bangladesh on Wednesday launched a local currency card, Taka Pay, the first of its kind in the country, as part of its efforts to build a cashless society.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Wednesday inaugurated Taka Pay from her official residence Ganabhaban in capital Dhaka, reports Xinhua news agency.

The card will be issued by the state-owned Sonali Bank and the privately-owned City Bank and Brac Bank in collaboration with the central bank of Bangladesh.

Speaking at the inauguration ceremony, Hasina said this card will be a groundbreaking step for building a cashless society in Bangladesh.

She said as an independent and sovereign country, Bangladesh’s financial system has to be independent and sovereign to reduce dependency on others.

“We must not be dependent on any single hard currency,” she said.

The Prime Minister also stressed the need for data security for every holder of the newly introduced debit card.

ALSO READ: Bangladesh rejects OHCHR’s statement on violence

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Missing children found alive after 40 days in Amazon forest

Four children who went missing after a plane crashed in Colombia’s Amazon forest on May 1, have been found alive, President Gustavo Petro announced.

Taking to Twitter late Friday night, Petro said: “A joy for the whole country! The 4 children who were lost 40 days ago in the Colombian jungle appeared alive.”

He also attached an image of several members of the military and Indigenous community tending to the siblings — Lesly Jacobombaire Mucutuy (13), Soleiny Jacobombaire Mucutuy (9), Tien Ranoque Mucutuy (4) and Cristin Ranoque Mucutuy (1).

In a separate statement, the President called it a “magical day”, adding: “They were alone, they themselves achieved an example of total survival which will remain in history.

“These children are today the children of peace and the children of Colombia.”

Petro added that he hoped to speak with the children on Saturday.

On May 1, the Cessna 206 light aircraft was flying between Araracuara in Amazonas province and San Jose del Guaviare, a city in Guaviare, when it disappeared.

Since the crash, more than 100 soldiers with sniffer dogs have been deployed in the search and rescue operations.

Last month, the wreckage of the aircraft and bodies of the the pilot and two adults were found.

One of the dead adults, Ranoque Mucutuy, was the mother of the four children.

The family are from the Huitoto people, an indigenous group in south-eastern Colombia and northern Peru.