China donates $2 million for PPD building construction in Dhaka

China has donated $2 million for building the permanent headquarters for the Partners in Population Development (PPD), in Dhaka.

The PPD is a south-south collaboration forum of 26 developing countries.

 Vice-Minister of China’s National Health and Family Planning Commission (NPFPC) Wang Pei’an and PPD Executive Director Joe Thomas signed an agreement on the issue in Beijing on Saturday.

Bangladesh earlier donated the land at the capital Dhaka’s Agargaon as part of its commitment to promote South-South Cooperation in the field of reproductive health, population and development.

With this Chinese donation, the construction of six-storied building will be completed by December 2016, PPD says.

Bangladesh, China, India, Benin, Colombia, Egypt, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Indonesia, Jordan, Kenya, Mali, Mexico, Morocco, Nigeria, Pakistan, Senegal, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Tunisia, Uganda, Vietnam, Yemen and Zimbabwe are the members of PPD.

The group was formed in 1994 to promote 'South-South cooperation' through the International Conference on Population and Development in Cairo.

Collectively the member-states represent over half the world’s population. They have the largest youth population, but at the same time , they are also grappling with an aging population.

Last year in the inter-ministerial meeting in Dhaka, they promised to bring about positive changes in the lives of women, children and adolescents so that they “survive and thrive”.

Chinese Minister of NPFPC Li Bin, Bangladesh’s state minister for health Zahid Maleque, and South Africa’s Director-General of the Department of Social Development Thokozani William Magwaza witnessed the signing, among others.