BRAC Health Porogramme (BHP) hosted a special factory visit at Zaber & Zubair Fabrics Limited in Tongi, Gazipur, under the Mothers@Work project, supported by UNICEF, as part of BRAC’s month-long observation of World Breastfeeding Week. In commemoration of this year’s World Breastfeeding Week, BHP has launched a month-long celebration throughout August, focusing on raising awareness in the community and workplaces to promote breastfeeding. This year's theme is “Enabling Breastfeeding - Making a Difference for Working Parents.”

World Breastfeeding Week is observed every year to empower and support breastfeeding mothers and raise awareness of the numerous health benefits that breastfeeding offers both mothers and infants.

The celebration of breastfeeding, held on Sunday (August 20th), aimed to encourage support for the environment and promote breastfeeding among working parents. The programme was attended by government stakeholders, including the Line Director of National Nutrition Services (NNS), Professor Dr. Mijanur Rahman.

One of the highlights of the visit was a quiz competition organised for working mothers, addressing various breastfeeding-realted issues. This interactive session not only provided valuable information to the mothers but also offered them an opportunity to win exciting prizes. The event served as a platform for discussion and education, fostering a deeper understanding of the significance of breastfeeding for both maternal and child health.

Representatives from the organisations shared their insightful views and words of appreciation, emphasising the importance of BRAC's work and the positive impact on the lives of working mothers.

Chief Guest of the event, Professor Dr. Mijanur Rahman said "It's heartening to witness organisations like BRAC Health Programme and UNICEF taking substantial steps to advocate for important aspects of breastfeeding to develop a healthy workforce and a healthier generation for the future. Such initiatives are fueling our goals of promoting optimal maternal and child nutrition. It demonstrates how impactful public-private partnerships can bring about meaningful changes.”

Monira Parveen, Nutrition Officer, UNICEF added "Every mother deserves the opportunity to give her child the best start in life and we are pleased to support BRAC Health Programme in directly addressing the challenges faced by working mothers.”

Dr. Monowarul Aziz, Programme Head, BRAC Health Programme (BHP) said, “At BRAC, our dedication to improving the lives of mothers is unwavering. Our celebration of World Breastfeeding Week throughout August underscores our commitment to supporting working mothers and promoting breastfeeding as a fundamental aspect of maternal and child health."

The Mothers@Work project aims to create an enabling environment in the workplace for maternity rights protection and breastfeeding support for working mothers and their children. These interventions are crucial in the ongoing effort to create a more nurturing environment for working mothers. The interactive engagement, coupled with the endorsement of esteemed representatives, further solidifies the importance of breastfeeding in the RMG sector and beyond.

BRAC launched its new artificial limb and brace-related service centre on the premises of the BIRDEM General Hospital at Shahbagh in the capital for patients visiting the hospital with the need for brace and limb-related services.

The launch of the centre took place this morning (Saturday, 3 June) at the BIRDEM General Hospital in the presence of Professor M K I Quayyum Choudhury, director general, Bangladesh Institute of Research and Rehabilitation in Diabetes Endocrine and Metabolic Disorders (BIRDEM) as the chief guest. Dr Jonaed Hakim, head, the Department of Orthopedics, BIRDEM General Hospital & Ibrahim Medical College, was also present.

Dr Morseda Chowdhury, director, Health Nutrition and Population Programme (HNPP), BRAC; and Dr Shahinul Hoque Ripon, programme head, HNPP, and head of BRAC Limb and Brace Centre (BLBC), attended the event on behalf of BRAC.

Over 200 participants including heads of other departments, senior physicians and specialists were present at the launching programme.

BIRDEM director general Professor M K I Quayyum Choudhury expressed delight at the opening of the artificial limb and brace centre, saying from now on availing of artificial limb and brace-related quality services will be easier for patients who visit this hospital. “Now we are accommodating an outlet but we have a plan to establish a full-fledged artificial limb and brace centre and workshop on BIRDEM premises. Our partnership will be stronger in future,” said the DG.

BRAC director Dr Morseda Chowdhury gave an overview of BRAC’s health programme, while outlining the gradual expansion of its partnerships with the government health services. “Up till December 2021, BRAC had been providing artificial limb and brace-related services from its own centre. We had entered into a partnership with the government to establish a limb and brace centre and workshop in the compound of Sheikh Hasina National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery (SHNIBPS). That centre has already proved its capacity to provide quality services to the patients. In future we hope to further extend our partnerships with other public hospitals,” said Dr Morseda Chowdhury.

In December 2021, BRAC, in collaboration with SHNIBPS established an artificial limb and brace centre in its premises that has been providing quality prosthetics-related services to severely injured fire survivors. BLBC operating since 2000, provides user-friendly quality prosthetics, orthotics and physiotherapy services to amputees and people with disabilities. To date, over 43,000 patients, among them the survivors of Savar factory collapse in 2013 and the Sitakunda container depot fire in 2022, have received these services from BLBC.

BLBC in BIRDEM compound will be open for patients six days a week from 8.00 am to 5.00 pm. The centre will be closed on Fridays.

Established in July 2000, BLBC aimed to increase the independence of physically disabled persons by providing affordable, user-friendly, high-quality artificial limbs, braces and pressure garments.

Earlier this month we celebrated our 50^th anniversary at the Houses of Parliament in London, where we were joined by over 150 partners and friends of BRAC.

We were fortunate to have speeches and participation from:

• Chris Law MP, who was also our gracious host for the evening.
• Lewis Temple, Chief Executive of BRAC’s London Office
• Her Excellency Saida Muna Tasneem, Bangladesh’s High Commissioner to the UK, Ireland and Liberia (Watch speech)
• Asif Saleh, Executive Director of BRAC, and Shameran Abed, Executive Director of BRAC International and Baroness Minouche Shafik, President and Vice Chancellor of the London School of Economics and Political Science, as moderator. (Watch panel discussion)
• Scott MacMillan, the author of Hope Over Fate: the wonderful newly published biography of our late founder Sir Fazle Hasan Abed.
• A troupe of dancers from Akademi who performed traditional Bengali dances. Their upcoming show Pravass will take place in May and share stories of the climate-driven migration of people from the Sundarbans mangrove forest in India and Bangladesh.
• A special video address from Andrew Mitchell, the Minister for Development and Africa at the United Kingdom’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO).

Now that the 50th Anniversary year has officially come to a close, we look forward to a bright future and 50 more transformative and impactful years for the BRAC family.

You can view our video summary of the event to get a feel for the celebrations.

BRAC will organise a three-day long festival, of culture, stories, crafts, music and art, titled ‘Hope Festival’ as the epilogue of its year-long observances which marked 50 years of its founding. The announcement came at a press conference today at the Pan Pacific Sonargaon in the capital.

Venue: Bangladesh Army Stadium
Date: 9 to 11 February 2023
Time: Everyday 11 am to 10 pm

Hope Festival, an open-for-all event, will be held at Bangladesh Army Stadium in the capital on 9, 10 and 11 February, 2023. Everyone is welcome to take part in the festival by simply visiting the website brachopefestival.net and registering for the event.

Asif Saleh, Executive Director of BRAC Bangladesh and Tamara Hasan Abed, Managing Director of BRAC Enterprises made the announcement during the press conference.

Asif Saleh, Executive Director of BRAC Bangladesh said, “We believe that social change can’t be brought without partnerships. We have to come forward with new and innovative solutions to deal with these challenges. Building on the potential of the youth, we need to work together to meet the challenges of the future. Through this festival, we aim to get everyone onboard today to solve the social challenges of tomorrow.”

Tamara Hasan Abed, Managing Director of BRAC Enterprises said, “50 years of working with people, believing in their potential and organising the people to help them turn their lives around, this distinct approach to development, which BRAC stands for, is now being lauded the world over for its efficacy. We want to share insights we get from the ground with everyone. We want to inspire the vision of doing development differently and promote innovative approaches to tackle social problems.”

Selim R F Hussain, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of BRAC Bank Ltd Kamal Quadir, Chief Executive Officer of bkash and Mominul Islam, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of IPDC Finance Ltd were also present in the press conference.

BRAC’s founder Sir Fazle Hasan Abed used to say – when people have the opportunity to realise their potential, a light of hope gets switched on.

BRAC witnesses that belief turning into reality, every day, right from the frontline, to the last mile. Each of the over 100 million people BRAC works with – teachers, healthcare workers, entrepreneurs, artisans, farmers, producers, partners – from the heart of Bangladesh to the most remote corners of the world – is evidence of hope triumphing over adversity.

Hope Festival aims to inspire Bangladesh’s youth with those very stories of people turning their lives around, on their own, with just a tender rekindling of hope.

The three-day festival will cover three thematic areas with the first day (9 February) dedicated for a tribute to Bangladesh. On the second day (10 February), Hope Festival’s celebrations will be centred around showcasing the potential of people to transform their lives. Festivities of the final day (11 February) will lay out a vision for an equitable and prosperous future for all by sparking a discussion on the pathways to building the world we want.

Hope Festival aims to inspire conversations around five key focus areas, namely education, financial empowerment, gender equality, climate change and mental health.

To build a community of changemakers and find innovative ways of addressing these social issues, Hope Festival will provide a platform for everyone to submit their ideas to tackle these social challenges. People can submit their ideas online while registering for the festival and shortlisted ideators will get to share their ideas, connect and partner with other changemakers.

There will be open workshops with artisans, cartoonists, and urban greenscapers in the festival. People will get to stroll through a world of inspiration, experiencing bioscopes, puppet shows, human libraries, children’s play areas, and exhibits showcasing the power of hope. In a bid to inspire the youth to take ownership of solving social challenges, a group of young changemakers will be felicitated in the festival for their contributions through the ‘Amra Notun Network Young Changemakers Award’. Also, TAAGA Outstanding Young Professionals Award will be given out at the festival to women for their contributions at the workplace.

To ensure inclusion of persons with disabilities, Hope Festival will incorporate inclusive infrastructure in festival grounds. Moreover, visitors will get the opportunity to experience the life of persons with disabilities through interactive exhibits and a sign language performance. Everyday the festivities will be topped off with cultural performances in the evening by some of the biggest names from the cultural sphere of Bangladesh. Fazlur Rahman Babu, Nagar Baul (James), Arnob, Artcell, Lalon band and Nemesis will enthral the audience with their live performances. Bengal Parampara Sangeetalay will stage a special session.

Bkash, BRAC Bank, IPDC Finance and BRAC University are proud partners of the Hope Festival.

“Invest, young people will take care of the rest”, said State Minister for Youth and Sports Zahid Hasan Russell, MP while emphasizing the necessity for hands on-the-job training in Bangladesh. He was addressing as the Chief Guest at the celebration of 10 years of STAR (BRAC’s Skills Trainings for Advancing Resources) project held at BRAC Centre, Dhaka.

“Bangladesh Government is investing in skills development of youth and taking different initiatives. Government and non-profits. Government and NGOs can work hands on hands to reach out to youth who are in needs of education or technical training”, he added.

The on-the-job training programme is a solution to unemployment and poverty for the out of school adolescent and youth, said Asif Saleh, Executive Director of BRAC.

He noted that this programme is even more effective in terms of creating employment for the female participants.



Also present as special guests were, Md Nuruzzaman Sharif, ndc, Director General and Joint Secretary, Bureau of Non-formal Education (BNFE), Dr Md Omar Faruque, Director General and Additional Secretary, Directorate of Technical Education, Dr Md Alfaz Hossain, Project Director, Comprehensive Village Development Program (CVDP).

The training has more positive impacts on girls than boys: Effect on girls’ savings was 6 times higher than that of boys, employment among unmarried women increased by 43%, reduced chances of early marriage by 62% amongst female participants and subsequently delayed early childbirth.

In 2012, BRAC, UNICEF, ILO and Bureau of Non-Formal Education (BNFE) launched the Skills Training for Advancing Resources (STAR) as part of the Basic Education for Hard-to-Reach Urban Working Children (BEHTRUWC) project. The training builds on the traditional “Ustad-Shagred” (Master-Apprentice) model, where out of school adolescent and youth are placed as apprentices with local businesspersons known as Master Craft Persons. Over the years, STAR has demonstrated its success in providing an alternative learning pathway by training over 120,000 young people, especially in reaching around 60% girls who had no other learning options.

As the training is aligned with market-driven skills needs and the National Technical and Vocational Qualification Framework (NTVQF), graduate apprentices can go on to acquire Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) certification, and eventually better-paid jobs, in the formal sector as well. STAR has also been recognized as one of the top 10 global solutions for youth by the Generation Unlimited.

The post-pandemic world will see a robust rebuilding if the governments, non-governmental and private actors, innovators, social and mass media and community join hands in well-coordinated efforts to address the inequalities pervasive throughout the communities across the world and that aggravated during Covid-19.

These views came at a 2-day (12-13 October) conference titled “Frugal Innovations Forum” (FIF) hosted by BRAC. With 200 participants and over 40 speakers from the Global South countries, FIF 2022 comprised one daylong field visit and two days of panel discussions, presentations and workshops.

BRAC, one of the largest development organisations in the world, is hosting the Frugal Innovation Forum for the last seven years to facilitate the exchange between the social innovators around the world, especially those from the Global South, and other actors. This year, the FIF’s focused theme “The Future of Development in a Post-Pandemic World” highlighted the topics ranging from financial inclusion and education to healthcare and beyond.

Dr Shamsul Aam, state minister, Ministry of Planning; Dr Lilly Nicholls, high commissioner of Canada to Bangladesh; Anir Choudhury, policy advisor, Government of Bangladesh/UNDP; Rani Yan Yan, Chakma Rani (Queen), Chittagong Hill Tracts; Kamal Quadir, chief executive officer, bKash; Hillary Miller-Wise, deputy director, Global Growth and Strategy, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation; Zaved Akhtar, CEO, Unilever Bangladesh Limited; Yasir Azman, CEO, Grameenphone Ltd.; and Md Mahbub ur Rahman, CEO, HSBC Bangladesh; were among the distinguished guests at the different sessions of the 2-day event. Members of the senior management from BRAC also addressed the audience at the event.

State minister for planning Dr Shamsul Aam in his speech today (closing day) focused on the government’s proactive actions to mitigate the impacts of climate change in Bangladesh. He said, “we are increasingly prioritising actions to build our resilience, while we are at work in finding nature-based solutions to address the adverse situations triggered by climate change.”

Speaking on how the lessons learned during the pandemic can be utilised in the post-pandemic time, Anir Choudhury policy advisor of Government of Bangladesh/UNDP said, “we have three takeaways from the pandemic, which are:

• data collaboration is possible between government, telcos, NGOs, private sectors, which enabled unprecedented response
• distributed delivery models through remote diagnosis, wearable technology, community health workers are key in delivering health care to the community
• WhatsApp bureaucracy is real that made major decisions possible without letters, meetings, Zoom calls just by discussing and deciding in real time on a chat forum”

Eminent economist and chairperson of BRAC Bangladesh Dr Hossain Zillur Rahman emphasised that solutions to the challenges in the Global South should be ground-up, gender intentional and based on people’s lived experiences, which is the key takeaway of the 2-day Frugal Innovation Forum. “To make meta-transformations, the world of policy and non-state actors cannot speak in different languages,” he further added.

Speaking on the closing day, Asif Saleh, executive director, BRAC, highlighted BRAC’s future role in the new normal era. “BRAC will continue to stay relevant. With the changing nature of society and country, different types of problems will be emerging. We look at ourselves as part of the solution ecosystem with the government, private sector, development partners and social entrepreneurs. BRAC will be doing exactly what it has been doing. We are working side-by-side with the governments, private sectors and change-makers both nationally and globally. Because beautiful things can happen when all of us work together.”

16 journalists have received the BRAC Migration Media Award for their contribution to journalism in the field of migration. On Thursday (29 September 2022) the Minister of expatriates' welfare and overseas employment, Mr. Imran Ahmad, MP, attended a ceremony organised at BRAC Center as the chief guest and handed over the prizes to the winners. Director General of Bureau of manpower employment and training Md. Shahidul Alam, BRAC Executive Director Mr. Asif Saleh, and BRAC Migration Programme and Youth Initiative Programme Head Shariful Islam Hasan were present at the time.

BRAC introduced the award in 2015 to recognize journalism in the migration sector. This year the award was given for the seventh time. The award was given under the inspiration project of the BRAC Migration Programme in collaboration with the Embassy of Denmark in Bangladesh.

The chief guest of the event, Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment Minister Imran Ahmed, MP highlighted various measures of the government for the welfare of expatriates and said that everyone should work together. Addressing the journalists, he said that the role of the media is important in protecting the rights of migrants and providing correct information. He suggested to present the news avoiding bias.

Director General of Bureau of manpower employment and training, Md. Shahidul Alam, NDC, who was the special guest of the event, said that 7.8 million people have gone abroad in the last 13 years. 212 billion dollars (21 thousand 200 million dollars) came from expatriate income. These positive things can also come in the media. In addition to journalists, he proposed to give fair migration award to those agencies who ethically employ foreign workers.

BRAC executive director Asif Saleh, president of the event, said that migration is very important in poverty alleviation, especially in the rural economy. That is why we work in the migration sector to create skilled people, secure migration, stop human trafficking and repatriate repatriates. Every year we organise this event of Media Awards with enthusiasm so that a picture of the whole year emerges. He said, if there is goodwill, change is possible.

Shariful Hasan, Head of BRAC's Migration and Youth Initiatives Programme, presented the keynote address. International Organization for Migration (IOM) Deputy Chief of Mission Nusrat Ghazzali, ILO Chief Technical Advisor Laetitia Weibel, Jury Board Member from the Ministry of expatriates' welfare and overseas employment, deputy secretary Mr. ABM Abdul Halim and Secretary General of Bangladesh Association of International Recruiting Agencies, Mr. Shamim Ahmed Chowdhury Noman spoke on the occasion.

On January 14 this year, the announcement of the 7th BRAC Migration Media Award was published on the media and BRAC website. This year, the members of the jury board were Professor Robaet Ferdous of the Department of Mass Communication and Journalism of Dhaka University, Mr. ABM Abdul Halim, Deputy Secretary of the expatriates' welfare and overseas employment Ministry, Shaikh Muhammad Refat Ali of ILO and Chief News Editor of News24 Television Shahnaz Munni.

Daily Samakal's Rajib Ahmed won the first place in the newspaper national category this year. Prothom Alo's Mansoora Hossain was second and The Financial Express's Arafat Ara and Ajker Patrika’s correspondent Md. Shahriar Hasan (currently working in Dainik Bangla) achieved joint third place. Farooq Munir of daily Chittagong Khabar was first in newspaper regional category, Shariful Islam of Ekushey newspaper was second and Md Emdad Uliah of weekly Chauddagram newspaper was third.

Sabina Yasmin of DBC News, (now working at Independent Television) took first place in the television news category. Marzia Mumu of Zaham Television was second and Masuda Khatun of News24 was third. Channel 24's Morshed Hassib Hasan won the award in the television program category. Md. Mostafizur Rahman of Bangladesh Betar won the award in the radio category.

The first prize in the online newspaper category was won by Md. Jahangir Alam of Jagonews 24 online. Dainik Prothom Alo's Md. Mohiuddin came second and Dainik Bangla's Jasmine Akhtar and expatriate freelancer Rakib Hasan jointly got the third prize.

Each winner receives a crest, certificate of recognition and a check for the prize money as an award.

The ‘Made in Bangladesh’ brand in the readymade garments sector is largely the contribution of its millions of workers. A large market of other commodities and services has grown in the country to cater to the demands of the RMG workers. But the country has yet to develop a robust system to ensure the much-needed welfare of the RMG workers even after four decades since the establishment of the industry in the early 1980s. A large section of these workers work for meagre wages due to lack of skills. Many women leave jobs to take care of their newborns in absence of daycare centres, while many pregnant workers leave jobs due to lack of proper care. The country’s RMG sector will secure more sustaining growth once we can ensure basic services, skills training and opportunities and services for the workers.

Currently, the RMG sector contributes 16% to the GDP of Bangladesh, which constituted 83% of the country’s total export earnings in 2021. Bangladesh, second among the world’s readymade wear exporting countries, engages nearly 4.4 million people, 60% of whom are women. At present, this industry brings over 32 billion dollars every year.

These observations and information were shared at an event titled ‘National consultation on the wellbeing of RMG workers’ organised at the BRAC Centre in the capital today (Thursday, 25 August). BRAC, the one of the world’s largest development organisations, hosted the programme with Bangladesh’s commerce minister and lawmaker Tipu Munshi in chair. Special guests at the event were labour and employment secretary Ehsan-E-Elahi, director-general of Health Economics Unit under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare Dr Md Enamul Haque, and BGMEA vice president Md Shahidullah Azim. Professor of the Institute of Health Economics at the University of Dhaka Dr Syed Abdul Hamid and Centre for Policy Dialogue research director Dr Khondaker Golam Moazzem were present at the discussion panel. Sk Mojibul Huq, programme manager, BRAC Urban Development Programme, presented BRAC’s one-stop service centre model. The event was moderated by the director of BRAC Urban Development Programme and BRAC and BRAC International Climate Change Programme Dr Md Liakath Ali.

The findings of a survey on the effectiveness of the services rendered by the one-stop service centre model were also presented. BRAC and research organisation Lightcastle Partners conducted the study. Lightcastle Partners director Jahedul Amin presented the findings.

Tipu Munshi, minister, Ministry of Commerce, said, “The government has taken various initiatives to ensure the workers’ salary, quality of life and basic services. The prime minister has been giving her full support in this regard. BRAC has set the example of a quality service. This model will ensure the welfare of workers.”

Md. Ehsan-E-Elahi, secretary, Ministry of Labour and Employment, said, “We have two funds - a central fund which is solely dedicated for RMG workers, another one is Shramajibi Kallyan Foundation. With these two funds, I have been mitigating payments to thousands of workers with one-off payment for healthcare, in case of injuries or death, and also for their children's education. We will consider implementing this model of BRAC if they share it with our ministry.”

Dr Syed Abdul Hamid, professor, Institute of Health Economics, University of Dhaka, said, “BRAC has created a 360 degree-model. However, the government’s action is needed here.”

Dr Khondaker Golam Moazzem, research director, CPD, said, “There were many projects that never saw the light of day. With the help of the government, NGOs can come forward and implement such an initiative.”
Md Shahidullah Azim, vice president, BGMEA, said, “To keep up with the new world, we have increased the use of advanced machinery. As a result, we do not require as much manpower as we did in the past. Thus the number of women in the work force is decreasing.”

Md Liakath Ali, director, Climate Change Programme, BRAC and BRAC International, said, “This initiative of ours was small, it will end this year. By doing the pilot programme, we were able to show that this model works.”

The presentation on the research findings informed the audience that BRAC UDP is implementing a 5-year pilot titled “Empowering the RMG workers living in urban slums of Dhaka” (2017-22). Under this project three one-stop service centres have been established in Tongi, Gazipur and Savar, following an innovative OSCC model of BRAC to give coordinated services to garment factory workers. So far, 60,000 people of low-income families have received services including quality healthcare, legal aid, skills training, daycare service for children, financial inclusion services of deposit pension scheme and micro health insurance, and citizen rights awareness. According to the findings, the ERMG project also helped promote work-friendly environment in these areas through connecting the factory owners and workers.