The United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (Unicef), now officially the United Nations Children's Fund, made a four-year partnership with the Anjuman and Aziz Charitable Trust (AACT) of Bangladesh recently.

This partnership will help address the learning crisis caused by the pandemic, enabling 3,000 vulnerable children to re-enter education and catch up on their classes, a press release said.

Anjuman Aziz Khan, Muhammed Aziz Khan, Hanns Kendel and Christian Prokopp, trustees of the Anjuman and Aziz Charitable Trust, went to Denmark to join the Unicef's International Council at its annual symposium in Copenhagen recently at an invitation of the agency of the United Nations for their outstanding contribution to children in Bangladesh.

They are the first council members who joined such a programme from Bangladesh and saw how Unicef's supply warehouses operate.

The AACT has pledged to continue supporting Unicef Bangladesh in enabling the education of some of the most disadvantaged out-of-school children in the country, many of whom were forced to drop out of school during the Covid-19 pandemic.

"Every child is the future, if we want a future, we must enable the child via education. Education is not only children's right, but also our survival," said Muhammed Aziz Khan, founder and chairman of Summit Group, and founder and trustee of AACT.

"This generous and extraordinary contribution is a testament to Khan's commitment to the rights and needs of children. Unicef is grateful for this donation from the Anjuman and Aziz Charitable Trust which will help meet the education needs of many of the country's most vulnerable children," said Sheldon Yett, Unicef representative to Bangladesh.

AACT's support will enable Unicef's specialised learning programme to be offered to 3,000 children living in Dhaka South City Corporation Zones 3, 4, and 5 who have dropped out of school.

These areas see some of the highest rates of out-of-school children in the entire country, with one out of every three children in some neighbourhoods deprived of education.

Unicef will provide them with a unique approach to learn in a safe environment, until they either graduate from primary school or catch up on their classes and can be mainstreamed into regular schools.

The programme will also benefit an estimated 5,000 parents and community leaders through community outreach activities.