UNFPA recognized Md. Saiful Islam Bablu, Programme Officer, Population Planning & Research (PPR) of the Bangladesh Country Office, for his decade-long dedicated service, during an all staff meeting on 19th June 2019.
Mr. Saiful has joined UNFPA on 15th October 2009 as a National Programme Associate. He has been proactive in achieving UNFPA’s mandate in Bangladesh with his unflinching passion and dedication. Before UNFPA, he was working as a Town Manager in UNDP.
Academically, he has obtained an MSS degree in Economics with honors from Rajshahi University and a Masters in Public Health (MPH) from State University of Bangladesh. In addition, he has also completed a one-year Post Graduate Diploma in Human Resources Management from Institute of Personnel Management (IPM), Dhaka, and has also completed a Diploma in Population Sciences from Dhaka University. He now has over 10 years of experience serving as a Programme Officer with UNFPA.
Dr. Asa Torkelsson, UNFPA Representative in Bangladesh, congratulated Mr. Saiful on his achievement and thanked him for his valuable contribution to the Fund. The Representative then handed over the Certificate of Accomplishment, signed by the UNFPA Executive Director, Dr. Natalia Kanem, along with a small token of appreciation from the UNFPA Headquarters.
After receiving the accolade, Mr. Saiful reflected on some of the key challenges and successes he has faced at UNFPA. “Yes, working at UNFPA has given me some difficult set of challenges. Gathering information from Implementing Partners(IPs), dealing with high officials, and completing programmes on time can be quite challenging at times. However, working with two units- Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) and Population, Planning and Research (PPR)- has also posed to be both challenging and exciting.”
When asked on what still inspires him to continue at UNFPA even after a decade, he said, “UNFPA’s mandate of serving and working for the marginalized population is something that still inspires me. Plus, the work environment here is so positive and welcoming and supervisors here, past and present, have always been great role-models for me.”
“In fact, thanks to them and their support, I have been able to achieve success at times during my time here at UNFPA. I have successfully supported to complete the 2011 Population and Housing Census Project funded by the European Union and the 8th Country Programme projects under PPR. I also successfully coordinated with IP high officials for programme implementation, whilst managing the PPR annual budget.”
Mr. Saiful expressed that being acknowledged by the Executive Director, and being handed out the certificate by UNFPA Bangladesh Representative Dr. Asa Torkelsson was an absolute honour for him.
Speaking on his future aspirations, he added, “I plan to continue to work for the marginalized people of this country. I want to contribute to the population and development sector to improve advocacy and influence in the policy level for reducing maternal death, to fulfill the unmet need for planning and ensure zero gender-based violence.
