WAVE Foundation along with SDG Action Alliance Bangladesh and Noakhali Rural Development Society (NRDS) organized a national level assembly program, on 25th September 2022 at the capital’s CIRDAP Auditorium, to demand food security, end poverty and inequality to achieve sustainable development goals (SDGs). Mr. Mohsin Ali, Executive Director of WAVE Foundation, presided over the program, where Mr. Abdul Awal, National Coordinator of Global Call to Action Against Poverty (GCAAP), presented the program’s presentation, and Dr. Azreen Karim, Research Fellow, Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS), Dr. Mahfuz Kabir, Research Director, Bangladesh Institute of International and Strategic Studies (BIISS), Muhammad Faruq-uz-Zaman, Deputy Secretary, Ministry of Finance, the government of Bangladesh, were present as the Guest Speaker.
During the program maximum of the speakers basically talked about food security, end of poverty and inequality in terms of achieving sustainable development goals (SDGs). In this regard, the main issues discussed at the program were the on-going Ukraine-Russia conflict, for which, food supply worldwide has faced severe drawbacks, and as a result, the prices of essential commodities have also increased, and went out of reach of the marginalized communities.
To address, Social Security program, one of the speakers said that government had taken multiple initiatives, and allocated huge budget, but there were many problems and challenges in the implementation phase.
Participants of the program raised some important issues, such as farmers are not getting adequate facilities to harvest their crops; ethnic minorities are always deprived of all kinds of government’s assistance, poor conditions of the healthcare services and so on.
The discussants of the program upheld some recommendations, which are-
- To control the price hike of the essential commodities, government should adopt price control mechanism.
- The government should monitor the implementation activities, and should ensure transparency and accountability.
- Third gender communities should be given more priorities, especially health, education, vocational trainings, and allowances.
- Have to ensure proper health facilities for the left behind population.
- Have to create marketing facilities for locally made crafts, so that crafts workers can sell their products with proper prices and can earn enough profits.
- Have to provide loan with lower interest rate to the marginalized people.
- For disabled people, have to arrange capacity building trainings, and also have to provide facilities to enhance income generating activities.
In conclusion, it can be said that, to make the country prosperous, and to achieve the United Nations declared sustainable development goals (SDGs), we, foremost, have to ensure food security, have to end poverty and ensure inequality. And to do this, government as well as all walks of people of our country have to work together.
