Bangladesh

Popi Akhter (23) and Sumi are both early risers. “I have taken care of Sumi since she was a calf. Her calm and friendly approach is the best way to start the day,” elaborates Popi. She has been waking up to cattle calls since she was a child - “The cow shed is part of our house. We try our best in a small space, keeping the cattle safe and inland.” For the budding cattle entrepreneur, she dreams of taking the farm a bit further. It’s more than raising cattle for Popi; she is boosting the business standard. “I’ve been a helping hand with my father’s cattle since I was little. Now I want to make investments, so it grows.”

The landslide came after at least eight people – including five children – died in flooding and landslides on 6 July in Cox’s Bazar, the world’s largest refugee settlement, that is home to more than one million Rohingya refugees, most of them women and children.

“We opened this hospital to bring specialised care closer to those who need it the most and to ensure mothers feel safe and supported. Hopefully this will be the first of many successful deliveries that reinforce our commitment to strengthen healthcare for mothers and babies in Cox’s Bazar.”

With a population of about 170 million, Bangladesh faces serious challenges in protecting its children, who make up roughly 40–45% of the population. Despite ratifying the Convention on the Rights of the Child and enacting the Children’s Act 2013, children remain highly vulnerable. The 2025 Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) shows that 86% of children aged 1–14 have experienced violent discipline in the past month. Child marriage is also widespread: 47% of women aged 20–24 married before 18, and 13% before 15, while overall 56% of women aged 18–49 was married before turning 18.

At just 17, Imtiaz from Bangladesh emerged as a powerful young voice for urban children at the World Urban Forum (WUF13) in Baku, Azerbaijan. A child rights advocate and member of the National Children’s Task Force, Imtiaz delivered a powerful message: a safe home is the foundation upon which all other children's rights are built.

The measles outbreak is affecting all eight divisions in Bangladesh, prompting an emergency vaccination campaign across the country. In the last month, nearly 18 million children have been reached with at least one dose of the vaccine, according to government data.

The worrying increase comes ahead of the region’s annual monsoon season, which brings heavy rains and winds, and puts refugees fleeing by boat at heightened risk of capsize on choppy seas.

The country’s capital Dhaka, Cox’s Bazar - home to the world’s largest refugee camp - and other dense urban slum areas are seeing particularly high caseloads, with infants under nine months most affected.

More than 1,000, or 85%, of 1,200 girls who received income-generating support from Save the Children in Bangladesh were able to avoid marriage and continue with their education after being able to start generating independent incomes. A campaign running for 100 days from 27 November last year until International Women’s Day on 8 March has mobilised communities, faith leaders, and organisations to advocate for an end to child marriage globally with about one in five girls married before 18 – or about 28 girls every minute.

Senior government officials, development partners, and education stakeholders convened in Dhaka today to launch coordination under the Climate Smart Education Systems Initiative (CSESI), a national effort to strengthen Bangladesh’s education system against the growing impacts of climate change. Bangladesh faced extended closures last year, keeping children out of school for longer periods and resulting in learning loss. Supported by the Global Partnership for Education (GPE), CSESI aims to integrate climate change adaptation and environmental sustainability into education sector plans, budgets, and strategies to mitigate these challenges.