The Government of Bangladesh, donors and organisations working in
the education sector in Bangladesh have endorsed a draft primary
education curriculum on combating human trafficking and the need to
raise children's awareness on the issue at the school level.

The draft curriculum jointly prepared by IOM and the Campaign
for Popular Education (CAMPE) was recently shared with government
officials at a meeting in Dhaka.

The issue of trafficking and exploitation of women and children
in Bangladesh was identified as a significant concern in the 2009
IOM report "http://www.iom.org.bd/publications/13.pdf" target="_blank" title=
"">"Mapping of Missing, Kidnapped and Trafficked Children and
Women: Bangladesh Perspective".

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"">"Mapping of Missing, Kidnapped and Trafficked Children and
Women: Bangladesh Perspective"

"Children are especially vulnerable to traps laid out by the
traffickers and therefore, raising awareness amongst school
children at an early age would be an essential part of any
comprehensive fight against human trafficking. IOM is pleased to be
working with CAMPE in addressing the issue by bringing it into the
formal primary school education system in Bangladesh," said Ms.
Rabab Fatima, Regional Representative for IOM in Dhaka.

"This curriculum makes children aware of the issue from an early
age. But the issue should also not become a burden or cause anxiety
for them," stated the Primary and Mass Education Minister, Afsarul
Amin.

CAMPE Executive Director, Rasheda K. Chowdhury noted that "The
trafficking issue should be included in the primary school
curriculum as a child-friendly topic. To this end, lessons on human
trafficking have been prepared for inclusion in the text books of
grades one to five, with students at each class level receiving
age-appropriate lessons on human trafficking; lessons for grades
1-2 rely on flipcharts, posters and pictures, while role-play,
discussions and text will be used for grades 3, 4 and 5."

According to the Primary and Mass Education Secretary, "The
whole primary education curriculum is being reviewed at present,
and we can assure that the draft submitted by CAMPE and IOM will be
included in the review process."

The initiative is being undertaken within the framework of the
"Prevention and Protection of Victims of Human Trafficking in
Bangladesh (PPVHTB) project, with the support of the Royal
Norwegian Embassy and the Embassy of Denmark.

For more information please contact:

Asif Munier

IOM Dhaka

Tel. +880.2.988.9765

E-mail: "mailto:amunier@iom.int">amunier@iom.int