Dhaka: The Bangladesh Institute of Planners (BIP) on Thursday emphasized the urgent need for a coordinated effort among health, urban planning, and local government authorities to create a safe and liveable environment for children, citing the recent measles outbreak as a critical reminder of the importance of child-sensitive urban and regional planning.
According to United News of Bangladesh, BIP stressed in a press release that while healthcare for children is a fundamental civic right, it is equally vital to ensure a secure environment, well-designed neighborhoods, and urban and rural settings conducive to safe child development. The professional body of urban, regional, and rural planners highlighted the necessity of sound urban and regional planning to build child-friendly and liveable cities and rural areas.
BIP expressed profound concern over the recent measles outbreak and the resultant infections and fatalities among children. It urged authorities to not only focus on proper treatment and public health services to avert such health risks and premature deaths but also to give due attention to developing healthy, safe, and liveable urban and rural environments.
The institute noted that child health protection extends beyond hospitals and treatment services. Essential components of a child-friendly city and settlement include safe water and sanitation, hygienic housing, ample open and green spaces, safe mobility systems, traffic control, pollution-free surroundings, and easy access to public healthcare.
Planned urbanization and effective land-use planning can provide these facilities close to people’s residences, BIP added. The organization pointed out that children in densely populated and unplanned urban areas face higher health risks, thus emphasizing the need for urban and regional planning to prioritize child health, safety, and welfare through a “Child-Sensitive Planning” framework.
BIP called for quality and accessible healthcare for children in both urban and remote village settings. The institute underscored that ensuring a safe urban and rural environment for children necessitates collaborative efforts by local government bodies, health and family welfare authorities, urban and regional planners, engineers, environmentalists, and other stakeholders.
It also highlighted the importance of effective measures to secure quality child healthcare in remote and underprivileged regions of the country. Describing the recent measles outbreak as a crucial warning, BIP urged relevant authorities to jointly consider three key areas: quality treatment, preventive healthcare, and safe, planned residential environments to safeguard children’s right to grow up healthy.
The organization concluded that the wellbeing of children is not solely the responsibility of the health sector but requires integrated urban, regional, and public health planning. It emphasized that ensuring a safe, healthy, and liveable environment for today’s children is vital for building a healthy, humane, and sustainable Bangladesh in the future.