The following Data are from the Midterm 2007 Millennium Development Goals (MDG).

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-So do you guys think we can reach the 100% literacy rate by 2015?

................-So do you guys think we can reach the 100% literacy rate by 2015?

impressive...........

I don't see why not

[IMG]-So do you guys think we can reach the 100% literacy rate by 2015?

Among newly enrolled children, or adults? Adults, I don't think so. But the overall trend is great to see.

Do any of you know how are population growth rate is doing? In a National Geographic article around 1998 I read that ours had fallen below that of both Pakistan and India, but I've lost track of how we've done since...are we still making progress?

-So do you guys think we can reach the 100% literacy rate by 2015?

INSHALLAH!!!!!

Do any of you know how are population growth rate is doing? In a National Geographic article around 1998 I read that ours had fallen below that of both Pakistan and India, but I've lost track of how we've done since...are we still making progress?

according to CIA (2007) pop. growth rate was 2.07% in Bangladesh.

More important is Total fertility rate (TFR) for 2000-2005 and 2005-2010.

Here are the rates for 2000-2005 and 2005-2010 TFR's (according to UN) for Bangladesh, India and Pakistan. The rate of growth is steeper for Bangladesh than both Pakistan and India.

Bangladesh 3.22 2.83
India 3.11 2.81
Pakistan 3.99 3.52


According to the UN's published Population study (http://www.un.org/esa/population/publications/wpp2006/WPP2006_Highlights_rev.pdf) (PP 54), Bangladesh will have the following rates of population growths in,

2000-2005 2005-2010 2010-2015 2015-2020 2020-2025 2045-2050

1.89 1.67 1.56 1.42 1.27 0.56

Rates for Pakistan and India are as under,

1.82 1.84 1.90 1.77 1.54 0.77
1.62 1.46 1.31 1.14 0.97 0.32

Do any of you know how are population growth rate is doing? In a National Geographic article around 1998 I read that ours had fallen below that of both Pakistan and India, but I've lost track of how we've done since...are we still making progress?

I read somewhere its below 3 children per woman and something like 2.6-2.7 per woman. They also predicted it may fall below replacement level (2.2) sometimes within a decade or two. But will try to find a link to it.

according to CIA (2007) pop. growth rate was 2.07% in Bangladesh.

More important is Total fertility rate (TFR) for 2000-2005 and 2005-2010.

Here are the rates for 2000-2005 and 2005-2010 TFR's (according to UN) for Bangladesh, India and Pakistan. The rate of growth is steeper for Bangladesh than both Pakistan and India.

Bangladesh 3.22 2.83
India 3.11 2.81
Pakistan 3.99 3.52


According to the UN's published Population study (http://www.un.org/esa/population/publications/wpp2006/WPP2006_Highlights_rev.pdf) (PP 54), Bangladesh will have the following rates of population growths in,

2000-2005 2005-2010 2010-2015 2015-2020 2020-2025 2045-2050

1.89 1.67 1.56 1.42 1.27 0.56

Rates for Pakistan and India are as under,

1.82 1.84 1.90 1.77 1.54 0.77
1.62 1.46 1.31 1.14 0.97 0.32

Go by the UN study because the CIA data are very outdated in some sectors. By the way the Bangladesh Bureau Of Statistics has even lower growth figures than UN POP. Division.

Do any of you know how are population growth rate is doing? In a National Geographic article around 1998 I read that ours had fallen below that of both Pakistan and India, but I've lost track of how we've done since...are we still making progress?

From Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics.

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Go by the UN study because the CIA data are very outdated in some sectors. By the way the Bangladesh Bureau Of Statistics has even lower growth figures than UN POP. Division.

This is good to know but how do each sources arrive at these figures? Meaning how do we measure the validity and credibility of each source? How about a hunch if we can't? :)

Thank you both for all the info. I wonder if the Nat Geo article I mentioned was correct about us having a lower rate than India? Clearly India seems to be doing better at present. Still, at least the general trend is definitely downward. I have a hard time believing that we will be down to replacement births level in a decade or two though. Do you guys have any idea of what the total population is supposed to be when it stabilizes? My entirely speculative guess is the mid 200s.

Thank you both for all the info. I wonder if the Nat Geo article I mentioned was correct about us having a lower rate than India? Clearly India seems to be doing better at present. Still, at least the general trend is definitely downward. I have a hard time believing that we will be down to replacement births level in a decade or two though. Do you guys have any idea of what the total population is supposed to be when it stabilizes? My entirely speculative guess is the mid 200s.

Its close. The 2nd column represents the fertility rate. In 1973 it was 6.1 and in 2005 it was at 3.0. Going by this, I think we can reach replacement rate (or even below) within maybe 2 decades or 3. Source UN POP. Division.

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And this was from BBS. Its says the fertility rate is 2.5 (which seems a bit too low)

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Sources of modern Bengali words


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Thank you both for all the info. I wonder if the Nat Geo article I mentioned was correct about us having a lower rate than India? Clearly India seems to be doing better at present. Still, at least the general trend is definitely downward. I have a hard time believing that we will be down to replacement births level in a decade or two though. Do you guys have any idea of what the total population is supposed to be when it stabilizes? My entirely speculative guess is the mid 200s.

I say Bangladesh needs to get over the taboo of not talkign about sex. If they would just know how to use contrceptives then and be knowlegable about what STDs are then they'll stop banging around randomly.

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-really glad that females are more literate in BD than males. :)

Guys are born intelligent......LOL

Fertility rate comes down to 2.7
Staff Correspondent

Increasing use of family planning methods has helped reduce the total fertility rate from 6.3 children per women in 1975 to 2.7 in 2007, said medical professionals at an experience sharing seminar at IDB Bhaban in Dhaka on Tuesday.

They also said the data was available at demographic health survey in 2007 and it suggested that intensified family planning efforts were needed to continue the decline in the fertility rate.

The Directorate General of Family Planning and the EngenderHealth Bangladesh Country Office arranged the seminar.

The director general DGFP, Quomaran Nessa Khanam, was the chief guest while the director of population, health and nutrition of USAID, Lois Bradshaw, was the special guest at the seminar.

Quomaran Nessa said the country’s FP programme was considered to be a success story worldwide, but controlling of population growth had remained high on the agenda.

The seminar focused on the use of long acting and permanent methods of FP. Abu Jamil Faisel, country representative of EngenderHealth, Khaleque Chakder, line director of Clinical Contraceptive Service Delivery Project of DGFP, among others, addressed the seminar.

Over 150 participants including FP department officials, researchers, planners, representatives of development partners and NGOs attended the seminar.

http://www.newagebd.com/2008/dec/24/met.html

I have some confusion about this......................

I have some confusion about this......................

Which would be?

CARE, USAID event to highlight

An innovative program inBangladesh that caused unusually large reductions in child malnutrition will bemade known at an event featuring experts from the poverty-fighting organisationCARE and the US Agency for International Development (USAID), said a CARE pressrelease issued in Washington DC yesterday.

They'll provide an inside look ata program called Shouhardo that combined nutritional support with women'sempowerment initiatives to reduce child stunting, a key measure ofmalnutrition, by 28 percent in less than four years. That's twice the rate ofthe average U.S. government-funded food aid project of its kind.

The event, to be held at theNational Press Club, will include remarks from Dr. Helene Gayle, president andCEO of CARE USA, Faheem Khan, head of Shouhardo, Denise Rollins, deputyadministrator for Asia at USAID, and Anne Marie Golla, senior

evaluation expert atInternational Center for Research on Women. The panel also will presenttestimonials from five Bangladeshi families who participated in the program.

Implemented by CARE from 2004 to2010, the first phase of Shouhardo was the largest non-emergency USAID foodsecurity program in the world. It holds particular significance in light of thePresident's fiscal year 2013 request of $56.2 billion for the internationalaffairs budget, which represents an increase of 2.4 percent -- or $1.3 billion- over fiscal year 2012. As the foreign aid budget comes up for discussion thisyear, Shouhardo demonstrates how effective programs and partnerships can make asustainable impact on the lives of women, men and children.

The program was designed toreduce malnutrition among 2 million of the poorest people in Bangladesh.Researchers found that women who participated in empowerment interventions tohelp them fight sexual harassment, move about their communities more freely andgain a greater say in household decisions were less likely to have stuntedchildren than women who received only direct nutrition interventions such asregular food rations. In other words, the children of empowered women actuallygrew taller.

The astounding results of theShouhardo program also come as USAID leads a social media campaign called"Every Child Deserves a Fifth Birthday." With almost 7 millionchildren dying before the fifth birthdays, the campaign strives to stop thesepreventable deaths, the press release said.

http://thenewnationbd.com/newsdetails.aspx?newsid=38859

Bangladesh an imitable example in education: Unesco DG

Reported by: UNBconnect
Reported on: May 09, 2012 20:15 PM
Reported in: National

Dhaka, May 9 (UNB) - Unesco director general Irina Bokova on Wednesday said Bangladesh has become an imitable example in the field of education for the world and called for keeping up the trend.

Irina made the remark when she met Education Minister Nurul Islam Nanid at the Secretariat in the afternoon.

Education Secretary Dr Kamal Abdul Naser Chowdhuruy, Unesco Education Programme expert Kiichi Oyasu, additional secretaries SM Golam Faruk and M Iqbal Khan Chowdhury, and chairman of the National Curriculum and Textbook Board (NCTB) Prof Mustafa Kamaluddin were present at the meeting.

Irina said Bangladesh has achieved a significant progress in education, including ensuring the equity of male and female students at primary and secondary education levels, around cent percent enrolment at the primary level and distribution of about 23 crore free books among the students each year.

She said Bangladesh has proved it that the goal can be reached before the stipulated dateline by implementing specific policy and plan.

Nahid urged Unesco to enhance its support for the education sector of Bangladesh in the future.

http://www.unbconnect.com/component/news/task-show/id-76108

^^
That's great to know!

'Up tobacco tax, pass new anti-tobacco law'

The government has been urged to raise tobacco taxes and pass the anti-tobacco law to slash the number of consumers to save lives.

Experts say with 43.3 percent adults smoke or chew tobacco and the medical cost of the habit is twice the revenue the government earns from the tobacco industry.

"Tax rates on tobacco products have remained almost stagnant over the last decade," Taifur Rahman, coordinator of Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids in Bangladesh, said. "Particularly, bidi remains one of the cheapest products in the world."

At a discussion organised by Dhaka Ahsania Mission on second-hand smoking in the capital, its President Kazi Rafiqul Alam urged the government to clear the draft of tobacco control law to ensure smoke-free environment as mandated by the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC). The government has ratified the Convention.

Anti-tobacco activists say the tobacco industry fights every year to block tobacco tax increase as they know low tax and cheap tobacco help youths to hook into the habit and smokers to continue.

bdnews24.com reported earlier that the Ministry of Finance shot down a move to enact a 'stricter' tobacco control law fearing loss of revenue.

"If the government imposes 70 percent supplementary duty on all tobacco products, they will earn Tk 15,400 million more as revenue in the first year," Rahman told bdnews24.com. "In addition, cigarette consumption will come down by 6.25 percent and bidi 25 percent."

"The government's earnings will increase as the consumption will not fall in proportion with the taxes it will raise," he argued.

"The government never increased supplementary duty significantly. They just hiked prices in different slabs," Taifur said, "eventually companies were benefitted, not the government."

He demanded lifting price slabs for cigarettes.

The supplementary duties on cigarettes vary from 36 percent to 60 in four tiers. It is only 20 percent for bidis while 30 percent for smokeless tobacco like Zarda and gul.

The use of smokeless tobacco is also widespread in Bangladesh, according to WHO that suggests countries to stand 'rock hard' against tobacco industries to tackle global burden of non-communicable diseases like cancer, cardiovascular diseases, chronic lung diseases and diabetes that account for 60 percent deaths.

The draft of tobacco control law has incorporated smokeless tobacco such as zarda, sada pata and gul as tobacco products and suggested pictorial health warnings covering 50 percent of cigarette packets to discourage smokers.

Penalty has been increased from Tk 50 to Tk 500 for individuals who violate the law, while companies will have to pay up to Tk 1 million for a breach, according to the draft.

The National Board of Revenue says it earned Tk 73.30 billion in revenue from tobacco industries last fiscal year, which is 11 percent of total taxes.

News Source:
BDNews24

Economics of Tobacco & Tobacco Taxation released

Taxing all cigarette brands at a specific rate of Tk 34 per 10 sticks (70% of retail price) could lead nearly 7 million current smokers to quit and prevent 7 million youths from initiating smoking, preventing 6 million premature deaths and raising additional excise revenue of Tk 15.1 billion, according to a report released on Thursday.

Noted economist Prof Abul Barakat presented the report on ‘The Economics of Tobacco and Tobacco Taxation in Bangladesh’ at a function at Hotel Ruposhi Bangla.

Health and Family Welfare Minister AFM Ruhal Haque was the chief guest at the function, organized jointly by Human development Research Center (HDRC) and Campaign for Tobacco-Free kids (CKFK) with support of Bloomberg Initiatives to reduce tobacco use.

The report also said that taxing all bidis at a specific tax rate of Tk 4.95 per pack (40 percent of average prices) could lead 3.4 million adult bidi smokers to quit and prevent 3.5 million youths from initiating bidi smoking, preventing 2.5 million premature deaths and raising additional excise revenue of Tk 7.2 billion.

Addressing the function, Health Minister Dr Ruhal Haque termed tobacco as one of the most harmful products that cause deaths of 57,000 people annually in Bangladesh. “Each day some 100 people die due to tobacco related diseases,” he said.

The Health Minister stressed the need for increasing taxes on all sorts of tobacco products to remove people, particularly the young generation, from initiation of smoking. “Heart diseases among young group of people (30-40 years) have been found recently increasing in the country,” he said.

“This is very alarming and it needs elaborate research,” Dr Ruhal Haque said, adding that all concerned including the media should come forward to strengthen mass awareness about this issue.

The recommendations made in the just released report are to eliminate the use of price slabs as basis for different taxation and adopt a uniform specific cigarette excise tax that significantly raises cigarette prices and reduce tobacco use.

The report also recommended increasing bidi tax substantially through a high uniform specific bidi excise tax that significantly raises bidi prices and reduces use and increase taxes on all tobacco products to be equivalent to cigarette taxes and to reduce use of these products.

It also suggested to implement annual adjustments to retain real value over time and account for increases in incomes and asked to strengthen tobacco tax administration, improve enforcement, and levy tax on duty free sales of tobacco products in order to reduce tax evasion and avoidance.

News Source:
UNB

Who says we Bangladeshis are just building shiny towers and dreaming about mega projects! ;)

Bangladesh made UN Education Initiative member for its remarkable success
Reported on: May 26, 2012 23:08 PM


Dhaka, May 26 (UNB) - Bangladesh has been made the member of the United Nations Education Initiative for its remarkable success in education sector in the last few years.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon nominated Prime Minister of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina as the member of the UN Education Initiative for the lead role she played in achieving an unprecedented success in the country`s education sector, an official release said on Saturday.

Ban Ki-moon formed the UN Educaton Initiative recently where he formally named Sheikh Hasina along with 10 other heads of government of 10 developed and developing countries of the world.

Nominating Hasina Moon said that under her leadership Bangladesh has made a great leap forward in education sector particularly in increasing literacy rate, female students` scholarship and achievements made in primary and secondary education.

Source:http://www.unbconnect.com/component/news/task-show/id-77702

^^
Niceee. :cheers:

Global Innovation Index 2012 (Asia-Pacific rankings):

http://www.globalinnovationindex.org/gii/main/fullreport/files/Global%20Innovation%20Index%202012.pdf

3. Singapore - 63.5
8. Hongkong - 58.7
13. New Zealand - 56.6
21. S. Korea - 53.9
23. Australia - 51.9
25. Japan - 51.7
32. Malaysia - 45.9
34. China - 45.4
53. Brunei - 37.7
57. Thailand - 36.9
64. India - 35.7
68. Mongolia - 35.0
73. Vietnam - 33.9
94. Sri Lanka - 29.1
95. Philippines - 29.0
100. Indonesia - 28.1
112. Bangladesh - 26.1
113. Nepal - 26.0
133. Pakistan - 23.1
138. Laos - 20.2


Infrastructure pillar:

http://www.globalinnovationindex.org...astructure.pdf

3. S. Korea - 64.2
4. Hongkong - 63.4
7. Japan - 61.6
9. Singapore - 60.6
13. Australia - 56.3
25. New Zealand - 51.9
39. China - 44.3
41. Malaysia - 44.1
53. Brunei - 38.3
60. Thailand - 36.9
69. Philippines - 33.8
74. Mongolia - 32.6
75. Vietnam - 32.5
78. India - 31.0
80. Indonesia - 30.5
81. Sri Lanka - 30.4
93. Bangladesh - 28.2
110. Nepal - 23.8
113. Cambodia - 23.0
123. Pakistan - 20.9
133. Laos -17.4



Knowledge and Technology Output:

http://www.globalinnovationindex.org...%20outputs.pdf


3. Singapore - 64.9
5. China - 61.8
9. S. Korea. 57.8
14. Japan - 53.1
19. New Zealand - 49.2
34. Hongkong - 38.4
36. Malaysia - 38.0
43. Australia - 34.9
47. India - 34.0
50. Thailand - 33.5
58. Vietnam - 29.4
59. Philippines - 28.9
66. Sri Lanka - 27.1
74. Bangladesh - 25.6
84. Brunei - 23.4
90. Mongolia - 22.7
104. Indonesia - 20.4
107. Laos - 19.9
117. Pakistan - 18.1

Child mortality falls dramatically in Bangladesh
Mizan Rahman/Dhaka

Mortality rate of children under-five in Bangladesh has decreased to 46 from 139 over the last two decades, a Unicef report said yesterday.
Countries across the world are making rapid progress in reducing child deaths, demonstrating that it is possible to radically reduce child mortality over a span of two decades, the report said.
The 2012 Progress Report on Committing to Child Survival: A Promise Renewed examines trends in child mortality estimates since 1990, and shows that major reductions have been made in under-five mortality rates in all regions and diverse countries, said a Unicef press statement in Dhaka yesterday.
This has translated into a sharp drop in the estimated number of under-five deaths worldwide.
Data released by Unicef and the UN Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation show that the number of children under the age of five dying globally fell from nearly 12mn in 1990 to an estimated 6.9mn in 2011. For instance, the under-five mortality rate (U5MR) in Bangladesh in 1990 was 139, while in 2011 it decreased to 46 only.
The report underscores that neither a country’s regional affiliation nor economic status need be a barrier to reducing child deaths.
Low-income countries such as Bangladesh, Liberia and Rwanda, middle- income countries such as Brazil, Mongolia and Turkey, and high-income countries such as Oman and Portugal, have all made dramatic gains, lowering their under-five mortality rates by more than two-thirds between 1990 and 2011.
Between 1990 and 2011, nine low-income countries - Bangladesh, Cambodia, Ethiopia, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Nepal, Niger and Rwanda - reduced their under-five mortality rate by 60% or more, the report said.

News Source:
Gulf Times