South Korea will enhance treatment of Neurodevelopmental disabilities for the children in Bangladesh and provide training to the physicians and others for improving their diagnostic capacity.
To this respect, Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) in collaboration with Institute of Pediatric Neurodisorder and Autism (IPNA) held a Knowledge Sharing Seminar titled “Enhancement of Diagnosis and Treatment of Neurodevelopmental Disabilities for Children in Bangladesh” on Thursday (Nov 4) in IPNA, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU).
At present, there is a significant prevalence of childhood neurodisability in Bangladesh where approximately 12.86 percent of the population is children.
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Young-Ah Doh, Country Director, KOICA Bangladesh Office hands over donation to Dr. Shaheen Akhter, Director, IPNA
There are more than 1.6 million people with disabilities in Bangladesh which makes 10 percent of the country's population. Research shows that the number of NDDs is increasing as well as mental health issues, according to KOICA.
In this light, KOICA has supported a 14-day long online fellowship programme styled “Enhancement of Diagnosis and Treatment of NDDs for Children in Bangladesh”, which is the 1st year of KOICA’s country-focused training targeting 22 officials of IPNA conducted by Inje University in South Korea.
The main goal is to improve diagnosis and treatment of NDDs for children in Bangladesh so the service providers are able to play a significant role in NDD’s development.
Moreover, it will improve the integrated diagnostic capacity building of the four professions, namely, doctors, therapists, psychologists and teachers.
The hands-on training will be carried out over the next 2 years to further capacitate the officials of IPNA and provide a reference to Korea’s experiences for Bangladesh’s NDDs sector.
Young-Ah Doh, Country Director, KOICA Bangladesh Office delivers her speech
The seminar comprised of a detailed presentation on lessons learnt by officials of IPNA along with a presentation on action plan to implement psychological services for children with NDDs in different City Corporations of Bangladesh.
In additional, KOICA has donated various equipment to upgrade IPNA’s technical and logistical support to ensure quality training.
Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Shaheen Akhter, Director of IPNA conveyed her gratitude to KOICA for supporting IPNA from 2012, strengthening manpower to ensure better service in ASD and disseminating first-hand knowledge.
While, KOICA’s Country Director, Ms. Young-Ah Doh, appreciated IPNA’s close partnership with KOICA and hoped that the support will meet its objectives of raising awareness on NDD and build its institutional capacity which requires greater recognition.
