Tag: UNICEF

Bengal Govt to involve SHGs to manufacture low-cost sanitary napkins

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Women in Purulia district have managed to destroy taboos related to the monthly cycle, through a project that aims at providing better sanitation and hygiene. It also allows some women to earn money. An SHG in Jaipur Purulia, has taken up the work of manufacturing sanitary napkins.
Last year in June, the District Rural Development Cell (DRDC) and UNICEF jointly mooted a proposal for a sanitary napkin production centre at Purulia to provide cheap sterilised napkins and advocacy on personal hygiene. The DRDC fulfilled the infrastructure requirements while UNICEF offered technical support. A pilot project was started in Jaipur in Purulia. ASHA workers have been roped in to distribute the end products.
Each month, the 30 women work on the two sterilisation machines to produce about 900 sanitary napkin packets. Besides retailing, the centre supplies napkins for hospitals, schools and SHGs.
A plan has been made to include the Kanyashree girls in the distribution list.

 

 

সস্তায় ন্যাপকিন তৈরী করবে স্বনির্ভর গোষ্ঠী

 

রাজ্য সরকার পুরুলিয়ার প্রত্যন্ত এলাকার গ্রামের মহিলাদের জন্য সস্তায় স্যানিটারি ন্যাপকিন তৈরীর প্রকল্প চালু করল। এবং এগুলি তৈরী করবে পুরুলিয়ার প্রত্যন্ত গ্রামের মহিলারাই। এতে কর্মসংস্থান যেমন হবে, পাশাপাশি গ্রামের মহিলারা অত্যন্ত কম দামে নিরাপদ স্যানিটারি ন্যাপকিনও পাবে।
স্যানিটারি ন্যাপকিন ব্যবহারের ক্ষেত্রে এখনও উন্নত দেশগুলির মহিলাদের তুলনায় বেশ কিছুটা পিছিয়ে আমাদের দেশের মহিলারা। তাই, ন্যাপকিন ব্যবহারের ক্ষেত্রে মহিলাদের সচেতন করতে এগিয়ে এল জয়পুর সমবায় ও কৃষি উন্নয়ন সমিতি। এই ধরনের স্যানিটারি ন্যাপকিন বানানোর জন্য জয়পুর এলাকার বেশ কয়েকটি স্বনির্ভর গোষ্ঠীর মহিলাদের প্রশিক্ষণ দিয়ে নিজে হাতে নিরাপদ উপায়ে কীভাবে স্যানিটারি ন্যাপকিন তৈরী করবে, তা হাতে কলমে দেখানো হয়।
জয়পুর সমবায় দপ্তরের প্রশিক্ষণ ভবনে প্রাথমিকভাবে এই প্রকল্পের ‘পাইলট প্রোজেক্ট’ শুরু হয়েছে। প্রসঙ্গত, কয়েকদিন আগেই রাজ্য সরকারের স্বাস্থ্য দপ্তরের উদ্যোগে রাজ্যের প্রতিটি এলাকায় আশা কর্মীদের মাধ্যমে মেয়েদের সস্তায় ভর্তুকিযুক্ত স্যানিটারি ন্যাপকিন বিলি করার প্রকল্প শুরু হয়েছে।
এই প্রকল্পে ভবিষ্যতে রাজ্য সরকারে ‘কন্যাশ্রী’ প্রকল্পে নাম লেখানো ছাত্রীদের অন্তর্ভুক্ত করার পরিকল্পনা আছে।

After Malda, now Birbhum to be declared as Open Defecation Free district

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After Malda, which had been declared an Open Defecation Free (ODF) district in November, Birbhum is soon going to become a ‘Nirmal Jela’. It will be the 10th district to be notified as such.

Among other districts that have already been declared as ODF are Nadia (India’s first ODF district), North and South 24 Parganas, Purba Medinipur, Hooghly, Purba and Paschim Bardhaman and Cooch Behar.

In Howrah, work to make the district Open Defecation Free is on in full swing. By March 2018, two more districts — Paschim Medinipur and Murshidabad – will be declared ODF. The remaining districts have been given a goal of attaining the ODF status by December 2018.

Mission Nirmal Bangla has been highly successful in making the districts of Bengal largely free from open defecation activities. Programmes of the scheme like awareness rallies, Nirmal Utsav, felicitation of community facilitators, Nirmal Adda, etc. ensure that ODF becomes a sustained habit, and there is no slipping back to open defecation. Third-party verification activity has been introduced in the rural areas of districts to ensure that there is impartial verification of the building and usage of toilets.

April 30 is celebrated every year as Nirmal Bangla Diwas, being designated so by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. Under Mamata Banerjee’s leadership, Bengal had already started its journey towards achieving ODF status for the rural areas of the state since the World Toilet Day celebration on November 19, 2013. The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) is a partner of the State Government in this journey.

 

মালদার পর এবার বীরভূম হবে নির্মল জেলা

নির্মল বাংলার লক্ষ্যে দৃঢ় পদক্ষেপে এগিয়ে চলেছে পশ্চিমবঙ্গ। নভেম্বর মাসেই মালদাকে নির্মল জেলা ঘোষণা করা হয়েছে। এরপরই, ডিসেম্বরে বীরভূম জেলা হতে চলেছে রাজ্যের দশম নির্মল জেলা।

যে জেলাগুলিকে ইতিমধ্যেই নির্মল ঘোষণা করা হয়েছে সেগুলি হল, নদীয়া (দেশের প্রথম নির্মল জেলা), মালদা, কোচবিহার, উত্তর ও দক্ষিণ ২৪ পরগনা, হুগলী, পূর্ব মেদিনীপুর, পূর্ব ও পশ্চিম বর্ধমান।

হাওড়া জেলাকে নির্মল জেলা ঘোষণা করার কাজ জোরকদমে এগোচ্ছে। আগামী মার্চ মাসের মধ্যে ১৪টি জেলাকে নির্মল ঘোষণা করার জন্য কোমর বেঁধে আসরে নেমেছে রাজ্য সরকার।

রাজ্যের পঞ্চায়েত ও গ্রামোন্নয়ন দপ্তর ২০১৮ সালের ডিসেম্বর মাসের মধ্যে রাজ্যের সব জেলাকে নির্মল ঘোষণা করার লক্ষ্য নিয়ে এগোচ্ছে। শৌচাগার তৈরী করার পাশাপাশি পঞ্চায়েত ও গ্রামোন্নয়ন দপ্তর গ্রামে গ্রামে পুরোমাত্রায় প্রচার চালাচ্ছে যাতে গ্রামবাসীরা সেই শৌচাগারগুলি ব্যবহার করেন। পদযাত্রা, নির্মল উৎসব, নির্মল আড্ডা প্রভৃতি কর্মসূচি গ্রহণ করা হয়েছে।

প্রসঙ্গত ৩০শে এপ্রিল প্রতি বছর রাজ্যে নির্মল বাংলা দিবস পালন করা হয়।

Source: Millennium Post

All rural homes in Bengal to have toilets by March 2018

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The West Bengal Panchayat and Rural Development department has set March 2018 as the deadline when all rural houses in the state will have toilets.

A high level meeting in this regard was held in the office of the Panchayat and Rural development office on Tuesday. The District Magistrates of Hooghly, East Midnapore and North 24 Parganas were present at the meeting. Senior officials of Public Health Engineering department and UNICEF attended the meeting. The State Commissioner of Panchayat and Rural development department was present at the meeting.

It has been decided that Hooghly will be an open defecation free (ODF) district by August and East Midnapore will be an ODF district by September end. It may be mentioned here that Nadia has become the first to achieve ODF status in the country. Two districts, Burdwan and South 24 Parganas will be open defecation free by March 31, 2017.

The department has taken up massive awareness campaign.

Also, the baseline survey was not flawless and some households got omitted. Attempts have been made to incorporate them in the list.

২০১৮-র মার্চ মাসের মধ্যে বাংলার সব ঘরে শৌচাগার তৈরি হয়ে যাবে

আগামী ২০১৮ সালের মার্চ মাসের মধ্যে বাংলার সব ঘরে শৌচাগার তৈরি করার পরিকল্পনা নিয়েছে পশ্চিমবঙ্গ পঞ্চায়েত ও গ্রামোন্নয়ন বিভাগ।

এই নিয়ে গত মঙ্গলবার পঞ্চায়েত ও গ্রামোন্নয়ন বিভাগ একটি উচ্চ পর্যায়ের বৈঠক করে। হুগলি, পূর্ব মেদিনীপুর এবং উত্তর ২৪ পরগনার জেলা শাসকরা এই বৈঠকে উপস্থিত ছিলেন। জনস্বাস্থ্য কারিগরি বিভাগ ও ইউনিসেফের সিনিয়র অফিসাররাও উপস্থিত ছিলেন এই বৈঠকে। পঞ্চায়েত ও গ্রামোন্নয়ন বিভাগের রাজ্য কমিশনারও উপস্থিত ছিলেন এই বৈঠকে।

আগামী আগস্ট মাসের মধ্যে হুগলি জেলাকে এবং আগামী সেপ্টেম্বরের শেষে পূর্ব মেদিনীপুর জেলাকে জীবাণুমুক্ত করার সিদ্ধান্ত নেওয়া হয়েছে। নদিয়া দেশের মধ্যে প্রথম ODF status অর্জন করেছে। বর্ধমান এবং দক্ষিণ ২৪ পরগণা এই দুই জেলাকে ২০১৭ সালের ৩১ মার্চের মধ্যে জীবাণুমুক্ত করা হবে।

তাছাড়া এই বিভাগ একটি গণসচেতনতা মূলক প্রচারও শুরু করেছে।

 

 

UNICEF all praises for Nirmal Bangla Mission

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Bengal will become completely open defecation free by 2019, a delegation from UNICEF led by Chief of Section for Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Sanjay Wijesekera was told by West Bengal government.

Representatives of UNICEF on Thursday held a meeting with the State Minister for Panchayat and Rural Development, Subrata Mukherjee where they were shown a presentation on Nirmal Bangla Mission.

The delegation from UNICEF was impressed by the progress of Nirmal Bangla Mission. Mr Wijesekera assured full cooperation to West Bengal government in this regard.

Subrata Mukherjee said, “Not only Bengal, Nadia is the first district in the entire country to be declared open defecation free. Several districts like Hooghly, North 24 Parganas, West Midnapore have performed exceptionally under Nirmal Bangla Mission. These districts have almost achieved their targets.”

“We have taken the initiative to build toilets in every household. We are discouraging people from open defecation should awareness campaigns. This will usher in a social revolution,” he added.

A booklet and music video on Nirmal Bangla Mission was launched by Subrata Mukherjee on the occasion.

 

‘1000 Days’ campaign launched for mother, child care in West Bengal

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West Bengal Department of Child Development and Social Welfare and UNICEF today launched ‘1000 Days’ campaign to reach out to every mother and child across the state for their healthier and prosperous future.

“The 1000 days between a woman’s pregnancy and her child’s second birthday offer an unique window of opportunity to shape healthier and more prosperous future. The right nutrition and care during this period can have a profound impact on a child’s ability to grow, learn and rise out of poverty,” state Women and Child Welfare minister, Shashi Panja said.

The campaign, which will be carried out for the next 12 months with a budget of Rs 1,474 crore to be funded by both the centre and the state, would be taken to every block in the state.

It would engage a large network of NGOs, institutions and community mobilisers to reach out to young mothers, the minister said.

UNICEF and WB Govt to jointly work for adolescent kids

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The United Nations Children’s Educational Fund or UNICEF and West Bengal Government will jointly launch a programme for the welfare of kids attaining puberty.

With an aim of making Kolkata more hospitable for adolescents, a meeting was organised by the Kolkata Municipal Corporation in the presence of representatives of UNICEF, State Women and Child Welfare Minister Dr Shashi Panja, Mayor Sovan Chatterjee and other officials.

West Bengal Government, UNICEF and KMC will jointly work for the adolescent kids in slum areas with a focus on children who have dropped out of school or fell prey to trafficking. A pilot project will be launched in Ward No. 26 of KMC area.

Awareness drives for Bengal government’s flagship schemes like Kanyashree and Shishu Sathi will also be conducted. Government will conduct surveys to ensure common people are getting benefits of the schemes, the Minister said.

Chief Field Office of UNICEF in West Bengal, Ashadur Rahman feels that the impact of Kanyashree has been huge at the grassroots. He suggested that Bengal’s successful ‘Kanyashree’ scheme for the empowerment of girl child should be followed as an example by rest of the states in India.

 

Bengal Govt observes National Nutrition Week

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To enhance community-based initiatives in educating mothers and caregivers on nutrition issues, the West Bengal government is observing National Nutrition Week till next Monday.

“We are carrying out a series of convergent and well-coordinated activities in different sectors in a mission mode to address the issues which may lead to under-nutrition, especially in the socially and economically backward communities,” state Women and Child Welfare Minister Dr Shashi Panja said.

The state government has mobilised their state-wide network of ICDS centres and frontline functionaries to reach out to the maximum number of people at the community level.

Child rights body UNICEF has also been working closely with the state.

UNICEF officials said nutrition is not confined to food only, rather refers to an interplay of health and immunisation, environmental and personal hygiene and sanitation, in addition to age appropriate nutritionally dense food and feeding practices.

“Nutrition is an issue of survival, health and development for current and succeeding generations. Children born underweight may have impaired immune function, increased risk of diseases, low learning abilities due to impaired cognitive ability, thus affecting their school performance and then productivity in their later life,” Panja said.

National Nutrition Week is celebrated annually from September 1 to 7.

Across all districts, activities like community-level nutrition and health promotion camps, community sensitisation sessions, cooking demonstration and recipe competition quiz shows, etc are being carried out.

Girls are our pride, they are our asset: WB CM on Kanyashree Dibas

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West Bengal Chief Minister Ms Mamata Banerjee today transferred financial assistance to 27 lakh girls enrolled under Kanyashree scheme at the click of a button, during the third anniversary celebrations of the historic scheme at Nazrul Manch, Kolkata.

“Girls are our pride. They are our asset. They are our future,” she said while adding that all those who are enrolled under Kanyashree scheme will get a certificate at the age of 18 years.

WB CM was accompanied by UNICEF’s representative to India Louis-Georges Arsenault and a galaxy of stars from the cultural world, including filmmakers, actors and singers. The ceremony began with the cutting of a ‘cake sondesh’ followed by cultural performances by students.

Coochbehar, Murshidabad and Birbhum were declared as the Best Performing Districts in implementing Kanyashree scheme while Purulia and South Dinajpur received Special Awards.

Mr Louis-Georges Arsenault lauded the efforts of the West Bengal Government and said this scheme could become a model for India.

“Isn’t it incredible that 27 lakh girls have been enrolled today under this scheme at the pressing of a button?,” said WB CM while speaking at the ceremony.

“I am proud to say Kanyashree scheme was highlighted at World Girls’ Summit, 2014 in London. We are still fighting for 33% reservation for women in Parliament. Proud to say TMC has 35% women MPs in Lok Sabha,” WB CM added.

She announced that 40 lakh girls and boys, studying in Class VIII-X will receive bicycles in the next few years.

 

Kanyashree Bengal

Development of Girl Child; Bengal shows the way

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West Bengal Government in the last three years have taken numerous steps for the development of women. 8 March being internationally marked as Women’s Day, adds to the sense of proud feeling on Bengal’s achievements for their women and girl child.

Kanyashree Scheme:

The West Bengal Government has launched Kanyashree Scheme for the girl child development. Under the Scheme, the Government provides an annual scholarship of Rs 500 (now proposed to Rs 750 in the State Budget 2015) to girls between the age of 12 and 18 (class eight to class 12) to continue with their studies, provided they are unmarried. An onetime grant of Rs 25000 is provided to the girl once she reaches the age of 18, to pursue higher studies.

This Scheme is aimed to stop the problem of early marriage of the girl child and incentivise them to continue higher studies. Every year, 14 August is observed as Kanyashree Divas in West Bengal. Till date, 22 lakh beneficiaries have been enrolled and assistance given to more than 20 lakh beneficiaries. West Bengal Government has allocated a sum of Rs 850 Crore for the Kanyashree project.

Success of the Scheme:

After implementation of the Scheme, the school dropout rate among girls has decreased significantly. According to the National Sample Survey (NSS) 2014, the rate of school drop out of girl child in Bengal is 1.28%, while in 2009 it was 2.34%.

The national average of school dropout among girls in the NSS 2014 is 3.23%.

National and International Acclaim:

The project has received national and international acclaim. UNICEF have partnered with the State for implementation. The project was applauded and acknowledged as one of the ‘Best Practices’ by Department for International Development (DFID) and was selected for a presentation at the ‘Girl Summit 2014’ held at London. It has received the first prize in Manthan South Asia & Asia Pacific Awards in e-Governance.

West Bengal has bagged the prestigious national award for ‘Outstanding Service in Citizen-Centric Service’ for the Kanyashree project.

Other Initiatives for Girl Child:

Apart from the Kanyashree Project, West Bengal Government has provided 5 lakh cycles to girl students in the rural areas so as they do not face the problem of transportation to school. 12.5 lakh girls are covered under the scheme, ‘sabala’, which is an empowered scheme for adolescence girls. ‘Poorna Sakti Kendra’, a pilot project has been started for low sex ratio among child.

WB Government is the first to design a State Plan of Action for Children (SPAC) for 2014-18. Aaganwari is a state sponsored child care and mother care center in India. Till May, 2011 the number of Aaganwari centers were 21,426 and in last three years 14,500 new Aaganwari centers have been opened.

The allocations for Child Development Department has gone up by 16% and for Woman Development and Social Welfare Department has gone up by 12% in the State Budget 2015.

Kanyashree Bengal

The success story of Kanyashree – Mamata Banerjee’s brainchild

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The historic Kanyashree Project, launched by the West Bengal Chief Minister Ms Mamata Banerjee in 2013 is now bearing the fruits of her outstanding farsightedness.

The Chief Minister said that girls are precious assets of the society and in future they will lead the country. She laid stress empowering the future citizens of the nation through proper education. She appealed to the parents not to marry off minor girls only to achieve social security; they should be allowed to study and build their future.

About the scheme

Launched on 1st October, 2013, the response had been so huge that within a year 16 lakh girls were registered under the scheme. Till date 22 lakh girls have been registered under the scheme and the government plans to extend the benefit to 40 lakh girls in the next two years.

In terms of simplicity, transparency and outreach, Kanyashree scheme is unique and first of its kind in India. Not only can an applicant apply for the scheme in her school, madrassah, vocational training centre or wherever she is studying, for transparency purpose, the entire scheme can be accessed online on a dedicated website – www.wbkanyashree.gov.in

UNICEF partners West Bengal Government for the implementation of Kanyashree

UNICEF (United Nations Children’s Fund) has become a partner of the West Bengal Government for the implementation of Kanyashree scheme. The objective is to instill confidence among them, to encourage their education, and to discourage their early marriage.

The partnership between UNICEF and West Bengal Government is not a superficial involvement but a technical partnership. UNICEF has decided to hire a premium agency with the best expertise in India to do a “baseline survey” regarding the scheme. This will be followed by an “impact assessment”, to be funded by UNICEF.

Kanyashree scheme receives international recognition

Department for International Development ,United Kingdom and UNICEF had selected the scheme for presentation at the”Girl Summit” 2014 to be held at London. The State Government has been invited to make a presentation of the scheme before a global audience.

Union Women and Child Development Minister praises Kanyashree scheme

Union Minister of Women and Child Development praised the Kanyashree scheme of West Bengal Government during a reply on the motion for stricter measures to curb the rising crimes against women. During her speech she said that the Kanyashree scheme was an excellent idea.

The first Kanyashreee Dibas

The first Kanyashreee Dibas was celebrated on August 14, 2014 in every block of the State. On the day, The Chief Minister felicitated fifty girl students for their achievement in different competitions, as well as distributed prizes to three best districts, three best schools and three best colleges for their contribution to the Kanyashree scheme.

Film on Kanyashree by Oscar-winning filmmaker

After international accolades, recognition by UNICEF and invitation to the Girl Summit 2014 in London, the Kanyashree scheme has also been portrayed in a short-film made by an Oscar-winning director on a young girl’s fight to stave off marriage and help her family make ends meet and was screened at the Kolkata International Film Festival. Made by Oscar winning American short filmmaker Megan Mylan, the film, ‘After My Garden Grows’, was about a beneficiary of the West Bengal Government’s Kanyashree and Sabala schemes that are aimed at empowering the women of rural Bengal.

Kanyashree impact: School dropout rate among girls falls in Bengal

According to data from the National Sample Survey 2014, the school dropout rate among girls in the State has come down. The report says that while the National average for school dropout rate for girls is 3.23%, the same for the State is 1.28%. In the 2009 survey, the figure stood at 2.34% for Bengal.

National honours for Kanyashree

The Department of Woman Development and Social Welfare, Government of West Bengal has been awarded Silver Medal for the “Kanyasshree Prakalpo” in the Category of “Outstanding Service in Citizen-Centric Service.”

Bottomline

Using Kanyashree as a weapon, the state government is now urging the police and non-government organizations to go ahead to the micro level to generate awareness so that such crimes are minimised in the state. In a special training programme for police personnel jointly organized by the district police, district legal services authority (DLSA) and an NGO, the joint secretary emphasised on the utility of Kanyashree.

West Bengal is home to 88.34 lakh teenager girls as per the National Crime Record Bureau (NCRB). Most of these girls are vulnerable to child trafficking in the form of child marriage and other forms of coercion. Kanyasree project is an exclusive scheme to save the vulnerable girls. Police personnel are being explained on how to take action against trafficking of teenagers and prevent banes like child marriage.