OKD workshop held on situatiol alysis of children and women

Guwahati, May 4: The Omeo Kumar Das Institute of Social Change and Development (OKDISCD) in association with UNICEF, Assam organised a two-day Policy Dialogue on Situatiol Alysis of Children and Women in Assam in the context of UNICEF’s Country Programme (2018-22) on May 3-4 at the Conference Hall of the institute, a press release said.

The dialogue was organised as a part of a series of consultations to be held in four states—Assam, Meghalays, galand and Tripura.

Bhupen Sarmah, Director of the Institute welcomed the guests and Dr. Tushar Rane, Chief UNICEF Office for Assam gave the opening remark and set the agenda for the workshop. Apart from the research staff of the Institute and team members of UNICEF, the workshop saw the participation of members from various NGOs and academic institutions of the state. There were presentations on UNICEF’s priority areas – reproductive and child health, child development and nutrition, water and sanitation, education and child protection. The presentations gave a vignette of the present situation and challenges vis-à-vis these areas in the state of Assam. Further, participants were divided into six groups and each group was assigned one thematic area to discuss and identify the issues and recommend accordingly. Discussions veered around bridging the gap in the following broad areas in Assam – ‘children and women affected by violence’, ‘tribal and sixth Schedule areas’, ‘hard to reach areas, including riverine island’, ‘children in urbanized Assam and evolving issues’, ‘tural disasters and climate change affected areas’ and ‘children and women in tea gardens’. The group discussion has come up with several recommendations which have been forwarded for incorporation in the UNICEF’s Country Programme for India (2018-2022).