We are delighted Md. Mehedi Hasan Khan, Associate Professor Department of Population Sciences, University of Dhaka, Bangladesh has accepted our scholarship to attend the Global Ageing Network/Curaviva Global Ageing Conference, 18-21 September 2017, Montreux, Switzerland.
As a respected expert, Mehedi has written on broader population ageing issues in peer reviewed journals in his home country and abroad. “I have presented a number of research works on population ageing issues in national and international levels and have worked as a team member in a UNFPA funded research on population ageing in my Department,” he says.
He has also completed a number of training programs on population ageing issues in national and international levels.
“It is a great opportunity to attend such an international conference with such a prestigious scholarship. “Participation in this kind of international professional activities will enhance my professional experience and expertise,” Mehedi says.
He is keen to learn from the leading scholars of the field and is interested to have higher education in broader ageing and development issues. “I hope I shall find some scholars to share my academic interest and future collaboration,” he says.
In his current position, Mehedi is involved in teaching and research in population ageing field and says he will able to apply my earned experience in my professional activities.
After the conference, he aims to share his experience with government and non-government organisations who are currently involved in ageing related activities in Bangladesh. Bangladesh has recently passed the ‘National Policy for Older Persons’ to address the issues of the 10.76 million aged people of the country and has also enacted a number of laws which would help to increase the status of the aged people in family and society.
“Bangladesh is a traditional country where most of the aged people stay with family members. Very few live in old home type establishment,” he says. “But due to changing social milieu, aged people are losing their earlier standing and it will create care related issues more complicated in the near future.”
Mehedi is also involved with the Bangladesh Association for the Aged and Institute of Geriatric Medicine (BAAIGM), one of the oldest and largest organisations working in this field since the 1960s. Popularly known as Probhin Hitoishi Sangha in Bangladesh, it is one of the only Bangladeshi NGOs to establish specific programs for the older people living in urban areas. Its activities take place within some town branches and include health care, rehabilitation, workshops, research and publication.