Bangladesh Tobacco Control Leadership Program
Bangladesh Center for Communication Programs (BCCP) in association with Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health (JHSPH) has been implementing a Tobacco Control Program in Bangladesh to facilitate the effective implementation of Bangladesh Tobacco Control Law.
In this continuation in the first week of September 2013 BCCP in collaboration with JHSPH recently organized a 5-day workshop named ‘Bangladesh Tobacco Control Leadership Program’ in Cox’s Bazar. The workshop was based on the concept of Global Tobacco Control Leadership Program, which has been was held at Maryland, USA. The program was structured on the components of the World Health Organization’s MPOWER package of tobacco control policy action areas and focused on leadership and capacity building, policy development, program implementation, project management and evaluation.
The Leadership Program in Cox’s Bazar was followed by two subsequent programs in Dhaka one on September 6, 2013 and the other one on September7, 2013 respectively. The objectives of the program of September 6, 2013 were to develop a better understanding of the need and benefits of tobacco control among government and civil society leaders and enhance political support for tobacco control.
The high level seminar was organized on September 7, 2013 and discussed past, present and future of tobacco control strategy in Bangladesh. The seminar tried to develop an understanding of the need for tobacco control in the country, including Bangladesh’s responsibilities under WHO, Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC). It will also explore the challenges and opportunities for tobacco control in Bangladesh and developed an understanding of the government and civil society’s roles in advancing tobacco control in Bangladesh. The high level seminar also emphasized on how good leadership and strategic communication skills can be applied to overcome barriers of tobacco control and ensure that tobacco control efforts are effective, timely and resource efficient.
The facilitators and speakers of the seminar also discussed how to develop a broad understanding and implementing integrated tobacco control strategy in Bangladesh. They also highlighted a strategic communication skill that is needed to overcome the barriers of tobacco control program in Bangladesh.
The participants of the programs in Dhaka were Honorable Member of Parliaments, high level government officials from different Ministries and other offices, NGO officials, members of civil society and print and electronic media. It is expected that the program has encouraged the participants to assume more proactive role in making a difference in the area of tobacco control in the country.