Are we failing our future generation?

Bangladesh maintained its 129th ranking in the 2023 Human Development Index report, with the HDI value for 2022 rising slightly to 0.670 from 0.662 in 2021. Although the health and standard of living dimensions do not now indicate an issue, the education dimension does. However, the question remains: does the situation imply a progressive condition in the near future as well?

According to recent BBS figures, life expectancy at birth is regressing, with child mortality at 27 per thousand, up from 21 per thousand in 2019. The under-five mortality rate also rose to 33% from 28% in 2019. While such figures highlight the need for a greater institutional focus on health and maternal care services, they also convey the message of what lies ahead for the next generation.

The BBS data reveals that the typical age at first marriage has fallen in recent years. It's also astounding how many women in their 20s and 24s marry young. The graph shows that 20 to 24-year-old women marrying before 15 and 18 years increased in 2023, following fluctuations since 2019. 

Early marriage increases childbearing, which has repercussions. Bangladesh's unmanageable child marriage rate, caused by climatic change, social security, and safety concerns, leads women who marry early to have risks of premature birth, low birth weight, stunting, and lack of cognitive development due to inadequate nutrition and reproductive facilities.

Around 24% of Bangladesh's population was food insecure in August 2023, according to the latest World Food Programme (WFP) assessment. Over 70% of households borrowed, sold productive assets, or went into debt to acquire food. 

Inflation and food insecurity continue to hurt impoverished families, reducing their nutritional options. UNICEF estimates that 3.9 million five-year-olds were stunted as a result of malnutrition between 2020 and 2022, and stunted children cannot contribute to the household or economy in the coming years.

Institutionally classified as minors, nearly 38.9% of the total population are individuals under the age of 18. Breaking down, the age group of 15-24, often known as youth, has the largest population density of 19.11%, according to the 2022 census. 

For the country to flourish holistically, encompassing economic and social phenomena, it is necessary to incorporate healthy growth, nutrition, education, and security for children and youth in our development planning.

The correlation between quality education and prospective employment underscores future repercussions beyond health concerns. Data reveals that 39.88% of youth are not enrolled in any educational, training, or employment program. Since 2019, the out-of-school population has increased by 11.45%. 

The country's child labour rate has also increased during the last decade. In 2013, the number of child labourers was 34 lakh, 50 thousand, but the current figure is 35 lakh, 36 thousand, with 10 lakh, 70 thousand of them engaged in the specified harmful jobs. Such children are mostly excluded from the social protection system, with no targeted intervention to develop the fundamental underlying prerequisites for human capability enhancement.

While primary education attendance is excellent, the decline in secondary education, child labour, and poor diets, raises the question of whether we are focused enough on the normative perspective of quantitative measures. 

BIDS reported that 76% of class three and 70% of class four kids cannot read Bangla and struggle with similar maths procedures. Countries with the most advanced education and social systems for children emphasise outstanding basic and secondary education.

Current national development plans underrepresent child and youth interventions. The coming year must prioritise children's needs and promote basic human development and cognitive characteristics, to prevent future insecurity for children from varied socioeconomic backgrounds.

Existing social support programs alone cannot reduce poverty without targeting adolescents in risky employment, dropping out of school, or preparing to marry due to a crisis. Increased education and health budgets, concentrated efforts to end child poverty and child labour, and child-sensitive nutritional and reproductive health programmes are needed.

The development plan, also, requires a gendered lens in order to tackle the negligence that girl children, in particular, suffer because poverty and its consequences impose an additional load on them. 

Dropping out of school, being vulnerable to nutritional deficiencies, bearing an additional load as a result of the climate catastrophe, being especially vulnerable to reproductive health complications, has put half of our population in danger. Although female employment data appears to be on the plus side, linked protection and security do not support such indices.

A nation's growth is clearly linked to its investment in youth and the good citizenship it represents. Bangladesh's success since independence is impressive, but if the focus swings away from the key demographics and their concerning issues, the future will undoubtedly be less bright than we desire.

Rufaida Shafiq Aaneela and Ahmudul Haque are final-year students at the University of Dhaka's Department of Development Studies.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions and views of The Business Standard.