Bangladesh Care Forum 2025 held in Dhaka

The Bangladesh Care Forum 2025 concluded in Dhaka Thursday, rallying national and international stakeholders to push for inclusive and sustainable long-term care solutions for a rapidly ageing population.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and Ayat Foundation jointly organised the forum at a city hotel.

Over two days, more than 100 participants, including government officials, development partners, civil society members, healthcare experts, and private sector individuals, took part in different sessions of the forum.

The programme began on Wednesday with the inaugural remarks of Senior Secretary of the Ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment Dr Neyamat Ullah Bhuiyan.

He emphasised the deep moral and financial significance of caregiving in today’s society, noting that caregivers are more than just service providers, as they are essential to the functioning of everyday life.

A series of breakout sessions were held to explore infrastructure and financing, caregiver support, skills development and decent work, technology and innovation, public awareness, gender and migration, data and research, regulatory frameworks and development of a national long-term care (LTC) roadmap.

ADB Country Director for Bangladesh, Hoe Yun Jeong, reaffirmed his organisation’s commitment to investing in the care economy.

“ADB is proud to support Bangladesh in building a long-term care system that draws on global lessons while responding to local realities,” he said.

Senior Secretary of the Secondary and Higher Education Division at the Ministry of Education Siddique Zobair said caregiving must be mainstreamed as a 21st-century skill.

“We must recognise its importance in vocational and general education and develop pathways for skilled care worker migration,” he said.

The forum also featured compelling presentations and discussions from a diverse group of national and international speakers, including Joint Secretary of the Economic Relations Division Md Masudul Haque, Principal Social Development Specialist at ADB Francesco Tornieri, Head of Programmes at ILO Bangladesh Gunjan Dallakoti, and Gender and Social Inclusion Specialist at ADB Nasheeba Selim.

Besides, additional insights were shared by National Aged Care Specialist at ADB and COO of AYAT Education Foundation Md Touhidul Imran Chowdhury, international experts Adelina Comas-Herrera (London School of Economics), Meredith Wyse (ADB), and Dr Alex Robinson (University of Melbourne), Vice Chairperson of Ayat Education Foundation and Ayat Care Tahsin Aman and UN women representative Gitanjali Singh.