With promise to work hand in hand together for the development of nation and let Young people’s sexual and reproductive health at the center of all development the Bangladesh 5th National Youth Conference on Family Planning closing ceremony held on Saturday at Krishibid Institution in capital, maintaining a physical distance session with the Tagline “Connecting Youth Virtually and Globally” where about 500 hundred youth participants and international speakers will join and interact on health, family planning, and social issues.
This year SERAC-Bangladesh in collaboration with SERAC-Bangladesh is joined by Bangladesh Youth Health Action Network (BYHAN), UNFPA Bangladesh, Right Here Right Now, Marie Stopes Bangladesh, Coalitions of Youth Organizations in Bangladesh (CYOB), Pathfinder International, Options Consultancy Limited, UKAID, Plan International, Population Services and Training Center and UBR Alliance on this year’s conference.
At the 2nd and closing day of the conference the sessions started with plenary organized by UNFPA Bangladesh titled, “Contraception for Young Population: Break the Silence” which Moderator by Dr. Abu Sayed Mohammad Hasan, Programme Specialist-SRH UNFPA Bangladesh; Keynote Presenter was Dr. Vinit Sharma, Regional Senior Technical Adviser – RH & RHCS/FP, UNFPA; and other speaker was Speaker Professor Dr. Sameena Chowdhury, President, OGSB; Prof. Rashed Mohammad Khan, Head of Dermatology and Venereology, Dhaka Medical College Hospital; Ishrat Naher Erina, Founder, Prescription Bangladesh;
Another plenary hold by Mariestopes Bangladesh, the session Moderatorated by Monjun Nahar, Manager, Advocacy and Communication, Marie Stopes Bangladesh, the Speaker of Plenary was Quazi A K M Mohiul Islam, Former Director General, Directorate General of Family Planning, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare; Mohammad Abdus Salam Khan, Joint Secretary, Medical Education and Family Welfare Division, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare; Dr. Mohammed Sharif, Director (MCH-Services) & Line Director (MC-RAH), Directorate General of Family Planning , Ministry of Health and Family Welfare; Professor Dr. Sehreen F. Siddiqua, Head of Gynecology and Obstetrics and Laparoscopic Surgeon, Anwar Khan Modern Hospital and a youth speaker Tasnia Ahmed, Program Officer, SERAC-Bangladesh; the session was chaired by Masrurul Islam, Country Director of Marie Stopes Bangladesh.
Later on Options Consultancy Services Ltd. Hold a session titled, “Youth Friendly Environment In Family Planning Services & Our Population Policy”, the session moderated by dr. Nadira Sultana, Country Lead of Options Consultancy Services Ltd. The speaker of the plenary was Dr. Ubaidur Rob, Country Director of Population Council, Bangladesh; Nazma Ara Begum Poppy, Project Officer-Inclusion, Handicap International-Humanity & Inclusion-HI, Dr. Mohammed Sharif, Director (MCH-Services) & Line Director (MC-RAH), Directorate General of Family Planning, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and a youth speaker Md. Nazmul Hasan, Young City Champion, Foundation Botnar & UN-Habitat.
This year’s closing panelists was full of pioneers of development sector and expertise in family planning and adolescent health from national and international. The closing plenary titled “Beyond the Pandemic: Course of Actions for Adolescent and Youth Health”, moderated by SM Shaikat, Secretary General of BNYCFP2020 and Executive Director of SERAC-Bangladesh; Among the speakers, Md Rashedul Islam, Director General of NGO Affairs Bureau, Prime Minister’s office, People’s republic of Bangladesh, DR. Venkatraman Chandra-Mouli, Scientist from Department of Sexual and Reproductive Health and Research, WHO, Dr. Bardan Jung Rana Representative from WHO Country Office, Bangladesh; Dr. Halida Hanum Akhter, Senior Associate of Department of International Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health; Dr. Noor Mohammad, Executive Director of Population Services and Training Center (PSTC) and Chair of UBR Alliance; Dr. Dewan Md. Emdadul Hoque, Acting Chief of Health and Health Systems Specialist from UNFPA Bangladesh and Ms. Tajkia Jahan; Disability Rights Activist were also delivered speech on the occasion. Ms. Alexandra Johns, Executive Director of Asia Pacific Alliance for Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (Apa) delivered the key note speech for the youth during the plenary.
This year the conference is to focus on meaningful participation of young people, showcasing programs on family planning and well-being of young people including reproductive health care. The 2 days long conference was comprise a number of plenary, parallel sessions, workshop and networking for youth and skill building workshops from live studio rooms and a virtual 3D exhibition stall also launched for delegates.
