On April 3, 2019, the School of Life Sciences at Independent University, Bangladesh and International Center for Biotechnology and Health jointly hosted Dr. Halida Hanum Akhter, Senior Associate, Center for Human Nutrition, Department of International Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health for a seminar titled, “Life Cycle Approach to Women’s Reproductive Health and Rights.” The talk mainly focused on the various obstacles that come by in a woman’s life from birth to old age, with heavy repercussions on her health. Around 300,000 women die annually due to maternal health issues, primarily because a lot of the risk factors involved in pregnancy are ignored and there is often delay in seeking health care. On top of that a significant amount of event data gets undocumented leading to the actual rate of mortality being much higher. All of this suggests that there is still a huge problem of gender inequity even if we are close to successful in achieving equality. Dr. Akhter shared alarming statistics on gender violence, including child marriage and adolescent pregnancy and creates awareness among the audience, who can help bring about a change. She also shared her stories of success in her academic and professional journey and inspired the students to dream big!
Prof. Rita Yusuf, Dean of the School of Life Sciences, introduced the speaker. Prof. Omar M. Rahman prefaced the talk by appreciating that Bangladesh has performed well in addressing the issue of family planning, with the contribution from the Government, NGOs and Public and Private sector partnerships. Mr. Ornob Alam, Lecturer at the School of Life Sciences, hosted the ceremony. Over 100 students and faculty attended the seminar and participated in a lively question and answer session.
