Child Equity Atlas - BIDS

Child Equity Atlas
Two different Worlds:
The Situation of Children in the Least and the Most Deprived Upazilas
The situation of social development indicators in different geographic regions varies significantly,
revealing two worlds. As in many countries, this Equity Atlas indicates that within Bangladesh, where
children are born or live conveys the notion of different worlds in terms of access to certain services.
This gulf in social deprivation is evident when the most deprived upazila is compared to the least
deprived upazilas (see the table inside the box below). It is instructive to imagine what it means
for a child to grow up in Alikadam upazila of Bandarban district compared to Boalkahali upazila of
Chittagong district in the same division.
The table below illustrates the extent of inequality between Alikadam and Boalkhali upazilas. Progress
of some of the indicators in Alikadam is half as good as in Boalkhali, and the reality faced by children
and their families due to the fate of their birth or place of abode. For instance, in Alikadam families
have seven times less access to electricity and prevalence of the real child workers was 10 times more
compared to those in Boalkhali. In all indicators presented, Alikadam is deprived in seven out of the
eight parameters considered against none in Boalkhali.
Comparison of situation between the most and the least deprived
upazilas of same division
Indicators (%) Alikadam upazila Boalkhali upazila
Children under18 48 39
Teenage marriage 32 15
Youth literacy 43 83
Female adult literacy 25 61
Out of school children 39 16
NAR secondary level 29 59
Real child worker 21 2.2
No sanitary toilet 76 17
No electricity connection 84 12
Number of deprivations 7 0
8.1 Final Highlights, Observations and Key
Recommendations
8.1.1 Based on the study the following main
observations are further highlighted:
1. The Equity Atlas provides an insight with an
incredible level of detail to the social situation
of children, youth and their families in
Bangladesh, based upon the 2011 Population
Census. Substantial improvements have been
noted between 2001 and 2011 in respect of
most of the indicators taken into account
(Table 1.2 in Chapter one). Disparities are
more observable with further disaggregation
by social groups and regions. Central to the
atlas are the maps while the graphs show the
remarkable progress achieved such as in the
field of education and the closing of the gender
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