UNICEF Calls for Investment to Keep Bangladesh’s Girls in School and Protect Children

UNICEF called for girls to complete secondary education and for changes to legal loopholes that permit child marriage.

For girls facing pressure to marry and refugee children trying to continue their education, access to a classroom can shape much more than their school results. It can protect their choices, their safety and their chances of building an independent future.

Following a three-day visit to Bangladesh, UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell called for urgent investment in children, drawing on conversations with families in Korail, Dhaka's largest informal settlement, and Rohingya refugees and host communities in Cox's Bazar. Her appeal focused on ending child marriage, increasing public spending on education and health, and protecting quality learning for children affected by displacement.

Keeping girls in school starts with protecting their choices

In Korail, children and parents described the pressures of poverty, interrupted schooling and limited basic services. Adolescent girls spoke about their ambitions and the circumstances that can push them out of education and into marriage.

Among them was 14-year-old Bushra, whose father had been considering an early marriage for her. Russell said community leaders at a UNICEF-supported child protection hub worked with him to prevent it, giving Bushra the chance to continue pursuing her future.

Her experience reflects a widespread challenge. According to the Bangladesh Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey 2025, 47.2 per cent of women aged 20–24 were married before turning 18. Child marriage can end a girl's education, contribute to early pregnancy and restrict opportunities throughout her life.

UNICEF called for girls to complete secondary education and for changes to legal loopholes that permit child marriage. Russell stressed that keeping girls in school requires access to health care, education and protection services, with benefits extending to their families and communities.

Budget promises need to reach children's everyday lives

Russell met senior government officials, including Shama Obaed Islam, State Minister for Foreign Affairs, and welcomed the Government's commitment to investing five per cent of the country's Gross Domestic Product in both education and health. She emphasized the need to turn that commitment into services children can use.

"Budgets reflect priorities," she said, linking spending on education, health, nutrition and protection to Bangladesh's future.

Across the country, UNICEF works with the Government and partners to strengthen quality education, primary health care, immunization, nutrition, safe water, sanitation and child protection. Its work also includes preventing violence and child marriage, supporting adolescent girls and strengthening social protection.

Research, policy advocacy and support for national and local institutions form part of these efforts, helping public investment and essential services reach children at greatest risk of being overlooked.

Refugee children need classrooms and continued support

In Cox's Bazar, Russell met Rohingya children and families and visited a UNICEF-supported learning centre, hearing from students and teachers about the importance of education and vocational skills.

For children living with displacement and uncertainty, learning also protects against exploitation, trafficking, child marriage and recruitment by armed groups. Russell warned that children who have already lost so much must retain access to education.

She recognized Bangladesh's generosity in hosting Rohingya refugees and urged the international community to sustain support for refugees and the communities receiving them.

UNICEF and its partners provide essential services in Cox's Bazar, including malnutrition prevention and treatment, safe drinking water, sanitation, education, health care, child protection and psychosocial support. Vulnerable host communities also receive assistance.

Declining humanitarian funding threatens the continuity of this work. Russell's appeal called for sustained international investment to protect essential services, preserve progress and give refugee and host-community children the support they need to grow, learn and stay safe.