UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell has called for urgent investment in Bangladesh's children, urging action to end child marriage, keep girls in school and improve access to education and healthcare.
The appeal followed her three-day visit to Bangladesh, during which she heard from children and families about the challenges they face, including poverty, interrupted education and limited access to essential services.
During her visit, Russell learned about Bushra, who was 14 when she faced the prospect of being married off against her will. Community leaders at a UNICEF-supported child protection hub worked with her father to prevent the marriage.
Russell called for action on three key priorities: ending child marriage and keeping girls in school, fulfilling the government's commitment to invest five per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) in both education and health, and protecting access to quality education for Rohingya refugee children and those in host communities.
“Keeping girls in school and providing them with the health, education and protection services they need will deliver a brighter future for them, for their communities, and for Bangladesh,” she said.
Nearly half of women married before 18
In Korail, Dhaka's largest informal settlement, Russell heard from children and parents about how poverty, disrupted schooling and limited basic services affect their lives.
Adolescent girls spoke about their ambitions and the pressures that can force them to leave school and enter marriage.
According to the Bangladesh Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey 2025, 47.2 per cent of women aged 20 to 24 in Bangladesh were married before turning 18.
Child marriage can force girls out of school, increase the risk of early pregnancy and limit their opportunities throughout life. UNICEF is urging the government to ensure girls complete secondary education and close legal loopholes that allow child marriage.
During meetings with senior officials, including State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shama Obaed Islam, Russell welcomed the government's commitment to increase spending on education and healthcare. She stressed that these commitments must translate into concrete action.
“Budgets reflect priorities,” she said. “Investing in children’s quality education, health, nutrition and protection is investing in Bangladesh’s future.”
‘They cannot lose their education too’
In Cox's Bazar, which hosts one of the world's largest refugee settlements, Russell met Rohingya children and families and visited a UNICEF-supported learning centre. Students and teachers highlighted the importance of education and vocational skills.
Education not only supports children's learning but also helps protect them from exploitation, trafficking, child marriage and recruitment by armed groups, UNICEF said.
“Rohingya children have lost so much to violence, displacement and uncertainty. They cannot lose their education too,” Russell said. “The world must invest in them, and in the communities that welcomed them.”
Acknowledging Bangladesh's role in hosting Rohingya refugees, she urged the international community to continue supporting both refugees and their host communities.
She warned that declining humanitarian funding could threaten essential services, making sustained international support critical to ensuring children in refugee and host communities are not left behind.
In Cox's Bazar, UNICEF and its partners provide essential and life-saving services to Rohingya refugee children and families.