IOM Dhaka has launched a public information campaign on remittances
to generate awareness amongst Bangladeshi labour migrants working
overseas and their families at home on legal and safe methods for
sending home money.

The new campaign, which is a part of IOM's ongoing project
"Remittance Payment Partnership (RPP)" supported by the United
Kingdom's Department for International Development (DFID), will
complement a nationwide print media campaign that is raising
awareness among labour migrants and households receiving
remittances, particularly in areas with high migration rates.

The campaign's message highlights the benefits of using safe and
legal channels for sending remittances, as well as ways to optimize
the benefits of remittances by motivating households to save,
invest and utilize them in a productive way.

The campaign, which will officially end at the end of September,
will include leaflets, brochures, pens, mugs, posters, billboards,
bus paintings and signs across the country.

Speaking at the launch of the campaign, Dr. Salehuddin Ahmed,
Governor of the Central Bank of Bangladesh, said that remittances
are Bangladesh's number one source of foreign exchange. "Only 13
per cent of the population currently has a bank account. All labour
migrants should be encouraged to send their remittances through
both public and private commercial banks," he said.

"By promoting legal remittance channels, this information
campaign is expected to reduce risks and optimize the benefits of
remittances, both at the micro and macro levels," said IOM Regional
Representative for South Asia Rabab Fatima.

Last year alone, some 832,000 Bangladeshis left the country for
employment overseas. Conservative estimates indicate that this
figure could exceed one million this year.  Remittances today
are Bangladesh's largest source of foreign exchange earnings. In
2007 they grew by 33 per cent, reaching a total of USD 7.94
billion.

For more information, please contact:

Asif Munier

IOM Dhaka

Tel:  +880.2.881.4604

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