Bureau Chief, Khulna:

 Speakers at a 4th annual children’s conference held in Khulna on Monday (Apr 28) said the southwest coastal region of Bangladesh is one of the most climate change vulnerable areas in the world, experiencing frequent cyclones, increasing salinity, changing rainfall patterns, heat waves, urban water logging and many other climate impacted consequences that degrading the socio-economic situation, reducing livelihood-based productivity and income opportunities, increasing unemployment and influencing coastal to urban migration. Peoples and children life in the urban slums are worse in the coastal region.

Speakers also revealed that, the early marriage driven by economic stress is predominant and poses long-term risks, particularly affecting teenage girls.

A Khulna based non-government organization Jagrata Juba Shangha (JJS) with the support of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and Kindernothilfe (KNH) arranged the conference at CSS Ava Center in the city, where a large number of coastal adolescents, civil society representatives, academicians, NGO delegates and media personnel were present.

Vice-Chancellor of Khulna University Prof Dr Md Rezaul Karim addressed at event as chief guest. Director General of Press Institute of Bangladesh (PIB) Md Faruk Wasif, Additional Divisional Commissioner (development/APMB) of Khulna Abu Sayeed Md Manjur Alam, Head of Field Office, Khulna of UNICEF Md Qausar Hossain were present as special guests. Conference Co-ordinator and Executive Director of JJS ATM Zakir Hossain presided over the function. Program Manager SCVL project of JJS Nabo Kumar Saha delivered welcome speech.

Among others, Disaster Expert Nayeem Warah, Dr Nazmus Sadat and Prof Dr Zakir Hossain of Khulna University, Prof Dr Md Muzibur Rahman, Prof Dr Tanjil Sougat, Prof Dr Md Ashiqur Rahman, spoke on the occasion.