With more than 70 young advocates from across the country, SERAC-Bangladesh Organized the Bangladesh Youth Consultation on April 12, 2017, Wednesday at CBCB Center, Dhaka with the support from IPPF.
The day-long program focused on United Nations Sustainable Development Goals 3 (Health for All), and 5 (Gender Equality) and discussed how young people’s struggle to access sexual and reproductive health and rights, and gender equality at all levels.
At the end of the consultation, youths drafted and adopted the Dhaka Call To Action on Health for All and Gender Equality in which they recommended 5 key youth based recommendations for each of the goals.
The aim of this document is to advocate with the government to ensure participation of youths on key UN events like Commission on the Status of Women, Commission on Population and Development, High-Level Political Forum, and UN General Assembly, and a number of national, regional, and international spaces to ensure youth voices are amplified through a meaningful participation.
At a skill building session S M Shaikat, Executive Director of SERAC-Bangladesh introduced the 2030 agenda on Sustainable Development and what does it mean at the national, Regional and international level. Following that a talk show-style panel was hosted with Dr. Abu Sayed Mohammad Hasan, Technical Officer, UNFPA Bangladesh, Nahid A Siddiqui, Program Officer, Advocacy & Coordination, EngenderHealth which was moderated by Dr. Tareq Salahuddin, Editor of News Hour. The speakers shared their opinion and suggestions around this youth call to action.
The final and High level panel chaired by Dr. Dipu Moni MP, Chairperson of Parliamentary Standing Committee of Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Bangladesh Parliament, and Dr. Joe Thomas, Executive Director of Partners in Population and Development (PPD) reviewed the drafted recommendations while the panel was moderated by S M Shaikat, Executive Director of SERAC-Bangladesh.
Dipu Moni said, youths are leaders of today, and they have full potential to take decisions on their own issues, and the government has been working to ensure their access to health, and gender equality with an aim to achieve both SDGs 3&5.
Joe Thomas stressed that Bangladesh is a frontline country in an adoption of SDGs, and had also been successful in achieving maternal health, child health targets during millennium development goals era. The 2030 goals can be achieved by connecting youth voices and engaging them with the Bangladesh government’s priorities around SDGs 3 and 5.
