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Bangladesh Association of Parliamentarians on Population and Development (BAPPD)

 

            Bangladesh Association of Parliamentarians on Population and Development (BAPPD) has been reformed with 19 members (MPs) under the Chairmanship of the Hon’ble Speaker, Bangladesh National Parliament with a view that this committee would review progress and provide necessary guidance, facilitate in supporting of enacting necessary laws and policies, facilitate to allocate adequate budget, create mass awareness on population and development, maintain liaison with national, regional and international committees and forum on P&D, organize policy dialogue and consultation workshops, round table meetings and interactive meetings at national and local levels on P&D issues.

           

      The specific terms of reference (TOR) of BAPPD, as follows:

  1. The BAPPD Committee will be the apex body for advocacy and awareness creation on important Population and Development (P&D), Reproductive Health (RH) and gender issues;
  2. The Committee will work closely with 10 Standing Committees- Ministry of Health and Family Welfare; Ministry of Women and Children Affairs; Ministry of Home Affairs; Ministry of Finance; Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs; Ministry of Youth and Sports; Ministry of Planning; Ministry of Education; Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development and Ministry of Information to guide the respective ministries for enforcement of laws and regulations and to advocate for increased budgetary allocations ;
  3. The Committee will maintain liaison with national and international committees and forum on P&D issues;
  4. The Committee will organize seminars, policy dialogues, round table conferences, consultation workshops/meetings and interactive sessions at national, divisional, district and local levels on identified issues;
  5. The Committee will form three sub-committees on- i) Improve maternal health and ensure safe delivery; ii) Eliminate child marriage; and iii) Youth Development and will guide these committees; and
  6. The Committee can co-opt member, as and when required. 

 

The Project Director, SPCPD will provide the secretarial support to BAPPD Committee.

  1. Organize orientation/workshop for honorable MPs on P&D, RH, RR and gender issues
  2. Organize orientation/workshop for officials of Parliament Secretariat on P&D, RH, RR and gender issues
  3. Organize policy dialogue and round table meeting with MPs, policy makers, policy planners, civil society, key stakeholders, etc. on population challenges (Migration, young people, ageing and urbanization) and its effect on development, ending VAW, SRH plus, youth and HIV/AIDS
  4. Organize orientation meetings at divisional level with local MPs, planners, civil society, key stakeholders, etc. on population challenges (Migration, young people, ageing and urbanization) and its effect on development, ending VAW, SRH plus, youth and HIV/AIDS
  5. Arrange International/regional meeting/study tour for honorable MPs and officials of Parliament Secretariat
  6. Arrange meetings of Association of the Parliamentarians on Population and Development (APPD)
  7. Arrange meetings of the Parliamentarians sub-group on Youth and gender
  8. Production of documentary/short film on population challenges (Migration, young people, ageing and urbanization) and its effect on development

Organize promotional campaign and advocacy initiatives by honorable MPs in the respective constituencies and in the house

 with a view that this association would provide guidance to implement the UNFPA funded project titled “Strengthening Parliament’s Capacity in Integrating Population Issues into Development (SPCPD)”, create mass awareness on population and development, enact necessary laws and policies for preventing child marriage, allocate adequate budget for improving maternal health and ensure safe delivery, youth development, maintain liaison with national, regional and international committees and forum on population and development (P&D), facilitate in conducting policy dialogues, consultation workshops, round table meetings and interactive meetings at national and local levels on P&D issues related to ICPD POA.


      BAPPD is well aware that addressing the critical population dynamics will not succeed unless it is backed by a popular mass movement in favour of a general acceptance of the small family norm and it needs to be approached within a developmental frame-work that offers a well-integrated package of health including reproductive health and family planning, education especially girls education, gender equality, women empowerment, employment especially women employment, and social and environmental policies.

           

      Bangladesh has a number of important policies, all approved by appropriate authorities, such as the National Population Policy, the National Health Policy, the Education Policy, the Youth Policy, the National Policy for Advancement of Women, etc. However, the problem is the actual implementation of these policies through well-defined and costed strategies and action plans. This requires support of policy makers, opinion leaders, and public representatives at the grass root level. The Members of Parliament (MPs) are a key group to ensure implementation of national policies by influencing other decision makers both in Parliament and elsewhere to take actions that will bring desire change in terms of policies, programmes, strategies and allocation of resources.

      Successfully implementation of identified 3 policy advocacy issues, three sub-committees, comprising BAPPD members, have been formed on- i) Improve maternal health and ensure safe delivery, Hon'ble Chief Whip ASM Firoz MP, Bangladesh Parliament is the Convener; ii) Eliminate child marriage, Chairperson, Standing committee of Ministry of Women and Children Affairs (MoWCA) Ms. Rebeka Momin MP is the Convener; and iii) Ensuring Young people’s development Youth development, MP Sanjidha Khanam is the Convener.

Obejctive:
            The main objective of the BAPPD is to promote and facilitate the role of Parliamentarians /Legislators/stakeholders to integrate population and gender concerns, including emerging issues, into national and sectoral plans, policies, and laws.  

 

Key Activities:

Under the project IPRGD project, attempts are being made to sensitize MPs through different activities like orientations, workshops, round tables, policy dialogues, etc. and to update their knowledge and skills regarding population and development issues and their inter-linkages. It is expected that these efforts will increase their ability to be effective advocates/representatives for their constituencies when it comes to population and development issues.

 

Committees:

  1. Association of Parliamentarians on Population and Development (APPD) A 17 member of Association of Parliamentarians on Population and Development (APPD) committee was formed on 25 September 2010 under the Chairmanship of the Hon’ble Speaker, Bangladesh National Parliament.
  2. Sub-committee on Gender headed by Ms. Begum Meher Afroze, Chairperson, Parliamentary Standing Committee, MOWCA
  3. Sub-committee on Gender headed by Barrister Sheik Fazle  Noor Tapas, MP
  4. Project Steering Committee headed by the Secretary, Parliament Secretariat (Members- Representative UNFPA; Additional Secretary, Parliament Secretariat; Representatives from Planning Commission, Finance, ERD and IMED)


Outcomes:

  1. Population and reproductive health related strategies (e.g. Population Policy in PRSP, MDGs etc.) effectively translated into Program, especially for the poor and vulnerable
  2. Young people are given information and services and empowered to protect themselves from STD and HIV/AIDS
  3. A policy environment that promotes adolescents’ rights, HIV/AIDS and other reproductive health and gender issues