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