The reproductive health and rights of RMG workers remain uncared for and are yet to be addressed properly in order to boost their productivity, speakers said at a seminar yesterday. They said social barrier, inadequate treatment facility and service-providing agency, plus uncongenial working environment tell upon the reproductive health of the garment workers, particularly women, The speakers observed that apart from those issues, the unwillingness of women garment workers to go for health care services is also largely responsible for them to lag behind. The observation came at a seminar organised by SNV Netherlands Development Organisation at BGMEA conference room yesterday. The speakers said SNV Bangladesh is working on women project in order to provide strategies for the garment factories to address the women health issues. Several NGOs, private sector, service providers, buyers, RMG factory owners and management were present at the seminar. SNV Netherlands, a development organisation with financial aid from the Netherlands government, is trying to improve Bangladesh’s RMG workers’ reproductive health services. “Betterment of lives of low-income population is what we all want. But there is a huge gap in our communication and therefore, we haven’t been able to make a big enough impact,” said Paul Stevens, country director, SNV Bangladesh. Working with Women Project not only seeks sustainability but also offers a platform for sharing the experience gained in order to provide better solution, he added. “The objective of today’s seminar is to keep all stakeholders informed of the SRHR scenario in factories as well as to provide updates on what project is functioning for the betterment of current condition,” said Fartheeba Rahat Khan, team leader, Working with Women Project. The project can help improve the lives of garment workers and thus it will help them increase productivity, said BGMEA Vice- President Reaz-Bin-Mahmood. BGMEA looks forward to the success of the project, hopes Reaz.
