With great pride and responsibility, Unlocking Youth Potential (UYP) successfully organized the National Youth Conference 2025 on “The Role of Youth in Advancing Health Reform Agenda in Bangladesh” at Isfendiar Zahed Hasan Auditorium, Bishwo Shahitto Kendro, Dhaka.
The conference was enriched by the presence and insights of our distinguished speakers and panelists, including Dr. A. M. Jahangir Khan, Professor of Health Economics, University of Gothenburg; Dr. Ahmed Ehsanur Rahman, Scientist (icddr,b) and Member of the Health Sector Reform Commission; Dr. Mohammad Zahirul Islam, Health Advisor, Development Corporation Section, Embassy of Sweden; Dr. Mohammad Sabbir Haider, Senior Scientific Officer (Epidemiology), IEDCR; Dr. Shahzad Rokon Firoz, Assistant Professor, North South University; Dr. Subrata Paul, Health Economics Unit, Health Services Division, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare; Md. Mohiuddin Al Helal, PS to the Special Assistant (State Minister), Ministry of Health and Family Welfare; Dr. Shaila Sharmin Mimi, Assistant Director (QA), DGFP; Firoz Ahmed, Researcher, Writer, Editor and Member of the Constitutional Reform Commission; Dr. Md. Shamim Hayder Talukder, CEO of Eminence Associates for Social Development and BUHN Member Secretary; and Dr. Kazi Maruful Islam, Professor, Department of Development Studies, University of Dhaka.
We were honored by the proposed presence of Professor Dr. Md. Sayedur Rahman, Honorable Special Assistant (State Minister), Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, as Chief Guest during the closing ceremony. The conference was formally opened with a welcome address by Mohammad Abu Raihan, Project Manager, UYP, and skillfully moderated by Dr. Mohammad Zahirul Islam, Health Advisor, Development Corporation Section, Embassy of Sweden.
Through keynote sessions, plenary and expert discussions, and cultural performances led by the UYP team, the conference reaffirmed that youth are not passive recipients of health services, but active agents of change in advancing Universal Health Coverage and health sector reform.
UYP remains committed to strengthening meaningful youth participation, fostering intergenerational dialogue, and ensuring that health systems in Bangladesh are shaped with young people, not merely for them.
