IN THE crowded alleys and neon-lit corners of Dhaka, Chattogram, Khulna, and Sylhet, a vulnerable population often goes unseen — Bangladesh’s street children. They are the children who sleep under bridges, work at tea stalls, wash cars at intersections, and beg for survival. According to estimates by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics and UNICEF, there are over 600,000 street children across Bangladesh, with Dhaka alone home to nearly 300,000. Despite their visibility in urban life, these children remain invisible in public policy, infrastructure, and justice systems. If we truly aspire to build inclusive, sustainable, and humane cities, making them safe for street children is not optional — it is imperative.
Street children in Bangladesh are those for whom the street has become a place of shelter, livelihood, or both. Many are orphans, abandoned, or victims of family breakdowns. Some flee from abusive homes or are trafficked into urban centres by organised crime rings. Most are deprived of formal education, basic healthcare, nutrition, and protection from abuse. A 2015 survey by the ministry of social welfare revealed that more than 70 per cent of street children work in hazardous conditions, while many are exposed to physical and sexual abuse on a daily basis.
Despite significant improvements in Bangladesh’s child survival rates and access to primary education, urban disparities remain stark. The growing urban population, fuelled by rural-to-urban migration and climate displacement, further exacerbates the challenge. Urban development, unfortunately, rarely includes provisions for homeless or at-risk children. Thus, street children become a symptom of systemic failure — of broken families, inadequate rural development, and insufficient urban planning.
A critical first step to making cities safe for street children is legal recognition. In most cases, these children lack birth certificates or national identity, which limits their access to education, healthcare, or justice. Ensuring universal birth registration must be a national priority. Local governments should be empowered to run mobile registration drives in urban slums and public spaces. Once a child is legally recognised, they become eligible for state protection and services, which marks a significant shift from neglect to accountability.
Moreover, street children must be explicitly included in city-level child protection policies. Urban municipalities, such as the Dhaka North and South City Corporations, should develop localised action plans that align with the National Child Policy (2011) and the Children Act (2013). This should involve allocating budgets, hiring trained child protection officers, and mapping at-risk zones for targeted interventions.
Safe cities are not only about policing or protection; they must also be about inclusion. Urban planners must design infrastructure that accommodates the needs of all children — including the most vulnerable. This means integrating child-friendly spaces into slums, public parks, transportation hubs, and marketplaces.
For instance, cities like Bogotá and Manila have successfully introduced ‘Children’s Zones’ where safe housing, health services, play areas, and learning spaces coexist. Bangladesh can adopt a similar approach, especially around bus terminals, railway stations, and footpath-heavy commercial zones where street children often reside.
Additionally, nighttime shelters and transitional housing are essential. While NGOs like Aparajeyo-Bangladesh and Save the Children have piloted night shelters, these efforts remain limited in scope. City corporations should institutionalise such shelters within their social welfare departments, with links to long-term rehabilitation programmes that include education, counselling, and job training.
Protection From Violence And exploitation is a non-negotiable right for every child. Unfortunately, in Bangladesh, street children are at constant risk — from police harassment, criminal gangs, drug syndicates, and even predatory adults. Many girls fall victim to sexual exploitation, while boys are coerced into drug peddling or bonded labour. Strengthening child protection mechanisms is therefore essential.
The government should expand and adequately fund the national child helpline 1098, ensuring 24/7 response and outreach. Law enforcement officials, especially those stationed in urban areas, must receive child rights training, focusing on how to engage with vulnerable children empathetically and appropriately. Additionally, police should be instructed to refer children to protection services rather than detain them.
The establishment of a special unit within city police forces to handle children’s safety, including missing children, trafficking cases, and abuse reports, can be a game-changer. Collaboration with NGOs, social workers, and community leaders can create a safety net that street children can rely upon without fear.
Street children will remain trapped in cycles of poverty unless they receive opportunities for learning. Traditional classroom-based education often fails these children because of their mobility, work hours, and trauma. Therefore, the government must expand flexible, non-formal education programmes tailored to the realities of street life.
Mobile schools, open-air classrooms, and drop-in learning centres can offer a bridge between the street and the school. These programmes should not only teach literacy and numeracy but also life skills, health education, and basic financial literacy. NGOs like BRAC, Dhaka Ahsania Mission, and LEEDO have shown promising results in this area, but scale and coordination are needed.
Furthermore, older children and adolescents should have access to vocational training, apprenticeships, and job placement support. Partnerships with the private sector—especially in informal industries like tailoring, mechanics, food services, and construction—can provide pathways for economic independence. Government initiatives like the Skills for Employment Investment Programme can be expanded to include marginalised urban youth.
Street children often suffer from untreated illnesses, malnutrition, and trauma. Many are addicted to substances like dendrite (glue), yaba, or alcohol—used to escape hunger and pain. A city that seeks to be safe must ensure accessible, trauma-informed healthcare.
Mobile health clinics, urban community health centres, and school-based health units should be equipped to serve children without requiring formal identification. Moreover, trained mental health professionals and counsellors must be embedded in child protection services. The government’s 2019 mental health policy provides a framework, but implementation must include urban marginalised children.
Child-friendly drug rehabilitation centres, with a focus on recovery rather than punishment, should also be developed. Investing in children’s mental wellbeing is not charity — it is a societal necessity.
Street children are not merely passive victims; they are survivors, workers, and dreamers. Their voices must be heard in the process of designing urban spaces and policies. Child-led advocacy, peer support groups, and participatory urban design can help ensure that interventions are responsive, respectful, and rights-based.
For example, the city of Dhaka can pilot ‘Children’s Assemblies’ or ‘Street Child Councils’ to gather inputs on public services, safety, and local priorities. NGOs can facilitate these platforms, and city officials must be willing to engage with them.
Moreover, mass media campaigns that highlight the talents and voices of street children can help break public apathy and stigma. Public attitudes matter. As long as society sees street children as criminals or burdens, cities will never be safe for them.
No single actor, government, NGO, or donor, can ensure urban safety for street children alone. It requires collaboration across sectors: urban development, education, social welfare, health, law enforcement, and civil society. City governments must take the lead in forming urban child protection networks that bring all actors together with clear roles, shared data systems, and common goals.
In parallel, corporate social responsibility funding from industries operating in urban areas should be directed toward child protection. Banks, telecom companies, and real estate developers must be encouraged — through incentives or regulation — to contribute to child-friendly urban initiatives.
International donors and multilateral institutions like UNICEF, the World Bank, and UN-Habitat should embed street child safety into their urban development programs. Bangladesh’s vision cannot be realised if millions of its youngest urban citizens are left behind.
Bangladesh’s urban future is being built now — in brick, steel, and asphalt. But unless we also build compassion, justice, and inclusion into that future, our cities will fail their most vulnerable. Street children are not problems to be removed; they are children to be protected, nurtured, and empowered.
To make cities truly safe, we must reimagine them from the perspective of a barefoot child looking for food, shelter, and dignity. That reimagining begins with bold policies, empathetic services, and unwavering commitment from all levels of society.
The street does not have to be a child’s home. With vision, resources, and solidarity, we can ensure that every child — regardless of where they sleep —can grow up in safety, hope, and opportunity.
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ÌýMusharraf Tansen is a development analyst and former country representative of the Malala Fund.