Chapter Name ANALYSIS OF THE SITUATION OF CHILDREN AND WOMEN IN BANGLADESH 2015 a Analysis of the Situation of Children and Women in Bangladesh 2015 b ANALYSIS OF THE SITUATION OF CHILDREN AND WOMEN IN BANGLADESH 2015 Analysis of the Situation of Children and Women in Bangladesh 2015 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This Analysis of the Situation of Children and Women in Bangladesh was made possible with the contributions of many people, both inside and outside UNICEF. Officials representing the Government of Bangladesh at different levels, representatives of civil society organisations, development partners and research institutions made significant contributions to the Situation Analysis by providing their perspectives on the realization of child rights in Bangladesh. Community members in rural and urban communities also shared their views on the situation of women and children through focus group discussions. The Interministerial Committee that accompanied the development of the Situation Analysis was co-chaired by Mr Ashadul Islam, Additional Secretary (UN) of the Economic Relations Division and included representatives of the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Women’s and Children’s Affairs, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, the Ministry of Social Welfare, the Ministry of Chittagong Hill Tract Affairs, the Ministry of Primary and Mass Education, the Ministry of Information, the Ministry of Planning, the Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives, the Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs, the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Planning Commission and the Statistics and Informatics Division. The final Situation Analysis report was validated by senior Government counterparts from the same ministries. Special thanks to Ms Kay Dorji who undertook the desk review, conducted the consultations and produced the final report. © United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) December 2015 All UNICEF materials are protected by copyright, including text, photographs, images and videotapes. Permission is required to reproduce any part of this publication. Permission will be freely granted to educational or non-profit organizations. Please contact: Social Policy, Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation Section (SPPME) United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) BSL Office Complex 1, Minto Road, Dhaka-1000, Bangladesh Telephone: (880-2) 55668088 Email: [email protected] www.unicef.org.bd ISBN: 978-984-8969-24-3 Cover photo: © UNICEF/UNI171754/Noorani Design and layout: Dhrupadi 2 Foreword FOREWORD Over recent decades Bangladesh has achieved major improvements in the lives of children, adolescents and women in a relatively short time span. The country has done well to reach the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) targets on underweight children and hunger, gender parity in primary and secondary education, child and maternal mortality and access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation facilities, underpinned by rapid economic growth with Gross Domestic Product (GPD) growth rates ranging from 6.0 to 6.5 per cent over the past 5 years. However, considerable inequalities persist in terms of human development indicators, with under-5 mortality rates at 79 and 35 per 1,000 live births and stunting levels at 53 per cent and 27 per cent for the poorest and richest quintiles respectively. Furthermore, significant challenges remain relating to neonatal mortality which has been declining at a much slower pace than under-five mortality, high levels of stunting, the quality of education, pervasive violence against children in communities and schools as well as low levels of birth registration, gender-based discrimination and lack of opportunities for girls and women. Populations living in urban slums with limited access to quality and affordable services and populations living in locations vulnerable to the effects of climate change are particularly at risk of poor social outcomes. UNICEF supported the development of this Analysis of the Situation of Children and Women against the backdrop of Bangladesh’s transition towards the status of a lower-middle-income country as well as the global transition towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Both these changes at national and global levels set the scene for UNICEF’s upcoming 2017-20 Country Programme with the Government. Together with a series of other knowledge products, the Situation Analysis enabled UNICEF Bangladesh to formulate an evidence-based Country Programme that reflects the reality of the current country context in Bangladesh and addresses key barriers and bottlenecks to the fulfilment of the rights of children and women. The Situation Analysis used available data – in particular data emerging from the 2012/13 Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey and the 2014 Demographic and Health Survey, other research as well as analysis included in the 2014 UNICEF Mid-Term Review report, to identify trends and causes of key deprivations affecting children. This included analysis from an equity perspective, with a focus on gender inequality and the differential impact deprivations have on girls and boys. The development of the Situation Analysis was designed as a collaborative process, accompanied by an Interministerial Committee representing key Government ministries for child rights and was subsequently validated by senior Government counterparts. The Situation Analysis reviews Bangladesh’s progress towards fulfilling children’s rights to food and nutrition, health and survival, education as well as protection. The structural causes underlying disparities in child rights include the need for systems and institutional strengthening at national and sub-national levels, a need for a culturally sensitive transformation in existing gendered social norms to eliminate harmful practices; the persistence of widespread poverty and a need to direct more attention to quality services in disadvantaged areas lagging behind in human development, including urban slums and hard-to-reach areas; inadequate knowledge and awareness on good household practices and Bangladesh’s heightened vulnerability to disaster and ensuing emergencies. The country context in Bangladesh is changing rapidly in many different ways. In terms of demography, the current adolescent population of over 36 million aged 10 to 19 exceeds the population of children aged 0 to 9. Therefore, the country urgently needs to invest in the realization of their rights, focusing on some of the persistent gender inequities leading to challenges such as high child marriage and teenage pregnancy rates, and to provide access to quality learning as well as employability and life skills for adolescent girls and boys to be competitive in the labour market. 3 Analysis of the Situation of Children and Women in Bangladesh 2015 Furthermore, Bangladesh’s position as one of the countries most vulnerable to climate change exposes it to the risk that the effects of climate change will threaten the significant achievements Bangladesh has made over the last 20 years on poverty reduction and achieving the MDGs. Given that children tend to be disproportionally affected by the harmful effects of climate change, it will be crucial to invest in climate change adaptation and social services that are resilient to disruptions caused by natural disasters and other climate-related events. Bangladesh is also witnessing rapid and large-scale urbanization, with more than 50 million people currently living in urban areas and projections suggesting that in 30 years half the country’s population will reside in urban areas. Adequate provision of quality basic services that meet the needs of this growing urban population will be key to avoid the deepening of inequities. Finally, children with disabilities are often invisible in mainstream development programming, which is compounded by a lack of quality data on the number of children with disabilities. There is a need to enhance interventions for children with disabilities through early detection, inclusive education and social protection to ensure that they are not left behind. Against the backdrop of these emerging challenges, UNICEF will continue to support the Government of Bangladesh in its journey to ensure that the rights of all children and adolescents are realised by addressing the underlying causes of inequities and by working towards a society with equal opportunities for all children. Edouard Beigbeder Mohammad Mejbahuddin UNICEF Representative Senior Secretary, Economic Relations Division Bangladesh Government of Bangladesh 4 Table of Contents Table of Contents ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS . 8 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY . 11 CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION . 34 1.1 Objectives and Conceptual Framework of the Situation Analysis ............ 36 1.2 Methodology and Structure of the Situation Analysis ..................... 37 CHAPTER 2: DEVELOPMENT SITUATION OF BANGLADESH . 38 2.1 Demographic Profiles and Trends .................................... 40 2.2 Recent Socioeconomic Development Treads and Context of the Post-2015 Development Agenda ............................................. 42 2.2.1 Bangladesh’s Economic Development: A Brief Summary ............. 42 2.2.2 Bangladesh’s Human Development: A Brief Summary. 44 2.3 The Role of Socio-Cultural Norms and Values with Regard to Children and Women in Bangladesh .................................. 46 2.4 Key Crosscutting Development Themes Emerging as Priorities for Children and Women in Bangladesh in 2017-2021 .................... 47 2.4.1 Strengthening