The Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the government to provide financial aid to lactating mothers working in its member factories. BGMEA signed the Mou with Department of Women Affairs under the Ministry of Women and Children Affairs for “the Lactating Mother Aid Fund Project”, said a press release. The primary goal of the project is to safeguard the health of infants and their mothers. The lactating mothers need special care, more nutrition and higher calorie as they require more energy in bringing up the newborn babies with sound health. BGMEA has been implementing the project to support female garment workers with infants. Every beneficiary gets Tk800 per month for 36 months as allowance, totaling Tk28,800 in installments. In 2019-20 financial year, a total of Tk23,32,80,000 has been allocated for disbursement among 8,100 lactating mothers working in 251 BGMEA member factories. Payment is made from Bangladesh Bank in 1 or 2 installments every year as per the list. The allowance is deposited to the personal account of each lactating mother and disbursement is already under process.
