Planning Minister MA Mannan on Tuesday laid stress on concerted efforts to preserve social dignity of the country's orphans and to bring them into the mainstream.
He also called upon all private organisations to come forward with support alongside the government's social safety-net programmes especially for income-generation of the orphans' families.
He was speaking as the chief guest at a function organised by the Islamic Relief Bangladesh at a city hotel to celebrate its winning of Bond International Development Award 2019.
Elimination of extreme poverty of orphans and widows in Bangladesh under the Alternative Orphan Family Sponsorship Programme through Sustainable Livelihoods (ALO) fetched Islamic Relief Bangladesh the award in innovation category.
The project helped the orphans and their families attain stainable livelihoods, through acquiring knowledge related to health and sanitation and skill development.
Islamic Relief Bangladesh Country Director Akmal Shareef chaired the function.
The four-year-long ALO project was implemented in three northern districts- Rangpur, Kurigram and Lalmonirhat.
Chairman of the Board of Governors, Bangladesh Institute of International and Strategic Studies (BIISS) under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Ambassador Munshi Faiz Ahmad and Additional Secretary (Institution and Disabilities) of the Ministry of Social Welfare Sushanta Kumar Pramanik, Director General of NGO Affairs Bureau (Prime Minister's Office) KM Abdus Salam and Additional Secretary of the Ministry of Women and Children Affairs Md Aynul Kabir spoke as special guests.
The minister also sought cooperation from the local and international NGOs to eliminate child marriage from society as it is still a curse.
Bond, an umbrella group of international development organisations, announced the award at its annual conference in London on March18, 2019.
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