Geographical Locations - Bangladesh

• (Statistical) Number of Inhabitants per Doctor: 5,264
• CIA - World Factbook : Bangladesh

Organisations and Networks

UN and Multinational

• World Bank - Bangladesh
• WHO
  - Oral Health: country profile
  - WHO - Environmental Burden of Disease: Country Profile – Bangladesh
  - Regional Office for South East Asia (SEARO) in New Delhi (India)
• CDC
  - Tobacco Control: Bangladesh country profile
• United Nations - Permanent Mission of Bangladesh
  Provides country information regarding history, political system and economics
• UNICEF – Bangladesh: Public health

Government

• Bangladesh Government - Ministry of Health and Family Welfare
• Bangladesh Medical Research Council
  The mission of the Council is "to create effective and quality health care facilities for the whole population of the country by promoting health research through strengthening of research facilities, training and dissemination of research results"

Non-Government

• Asia Foundation Program : Bangladesh
  The Asia Foundation is a non-profit, non-governmental organisation committed to the development of a peaceful, prosperous and open Asia-Pacific Region.
• Banchte Shekha: Women Helping Women
  An article by Jim Mullins and Alice Boatwright
• Bangladesh Centre for Advanced Studies
  Offering access to resources on environmental and public health
• Bangladesh Rural Advance Commission (BRAC)
  "The organisation's objectives are now defined as Alleviation of Poverty and Empowerment of the Poor. To attain these objectives, BRAC runs a Rural Development Programme (RDP), a BRAC Education Programme (BEP), Health and Population Programme (HPP) and an Urban Programme together with supporting departments and revenue generating enterprises"
• Children Trust
  "organize strategically important activities related to development, which in turn will facilitate a sustainable and equitable improvement of life specially for children, women and the disadvantaged population of Bangladesh through their increased participation in the socioeconomic, cultural and civic life of the country"
• Dhaka Community Hospital
  "a private non-profit health care organisation. We are dedicated to providing quality medical services that are affordable for most of our poor people. We aim to integrate the delivery of primary, secondary, and tertiary health care services, to achieve the best possible management and use of resources. We emphasize the participation of local communities in the management and self-sustaining financing of the system"
• ICDDR,B: International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh
  "The International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (previously known locally as the Cholera Hospital) is an international health research institution located in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh. With the changing trend in the world scenario in health and population over the years, ICDDR,B has expanded its activities to address some of the most critical global health needs. In collaboration with partners from academic and research institutions throughout the world, the Centre conducts research, training and extension activities as well as programme-based activities"
• Marie Stopes Intl. : Bangladesh
• Rangpur Dinajpur Rural Service
  "one of the largest, most respected and long established NGOs operating in Bangladesh. It remains the leading NGO in the northwest, operating an integrated development programme to combat poverty assisting 275,000 landless and marginal families each year directly, and a further 200,000 indirectly"
• SWASTHYALOAK
  "The experts and members of SWASTHYALOAK have been involved with base line research works on health status of the people in this country. A bimonthly popular medical journal has been published for last two years. A number of seminar (as school program) workshop and other motivating program have been conducted by this organization. The aim of SWASTHYALOAK is to make aware the people regarding health care to ensure quality of life."
• West Bengal India and Bangladesh Arsenic Crisis Information Centre
  "Online focal point for the environmental health disaster in Bangladesh and West Bengal, India, where millions of people are drinking ground water heavily contaminated with arsenic. Site includes infobank of news articles, scientific papers, comprehensive links to other relevant sites, online forum, email newsletter, and local site search."

Academic Institutions

• The International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research
  ICDDR,B: Centre for Health and Population Research
• Refugee and Migratory Movements Research Unit - "The Refugee and Migratory Movements Research Unit (RMMRU), an affiliate of the University of Dhaka, has been functioning as a research, training, and policy advocacy institution since 1996. Its primary focus has been on migration, refugee, displacement, and governance issues. Its primary objectives are to increase understanding of the potential contribution of migration for pro poor growth and poverty reduction in Asia, to be the premier resource centre on migration, refugee and displacement issues in South Asia and to initiate regional collaborative research to understand the links between migration and poverty reduction."
  
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National Policy and Related Documents

• National Health Policy – An Update (Final Draft (27 August, 2008))
  "The updated [National Health Policy] 2008 seeks to build on both the policy documents of 2000 and 2006 and has taken into consideration their strategies for further expansion and utilization of health services especially by the poor and the disadvantaged. This update intends to provide a broad framework of goals and priorities consistent with the sector vision." Also available in Bangla.

Reports, Guidelines, and Projects

• Adolescent and Youth Reproductive Health in Bangladesh : Status, Policies, Programs and Issues (PDF) 34pg, POLICY project, 2003
• Lead poisoning: An alarming public health problem in Bangladesh
  To assess the risk of lead poisoning among preschool and school-aged children in Bangladesh, 345 children were screened for blood lead levels (BLLs) from one rural and two urban areas in Bangladesh from September 2007 through January 2008. An urban industrial area at Tongi was identified as a disaster area, where 99% (104/105) of those tested had BLLs ≥10 µg/dL. Industrial emissions and use of leaded gasoline by two-stroke engine vehicles were identified as possible sources of lead in that area. A rural nonindustrial area at Chirirbandar, Dinajpur was identified as another high-risk area, where 14% of the children screened had BLLs ≥10 µg/dL. BLLs at the urban industrial area were significantly higher than those at the rural and urban nonindustrial areas (24.58 ± 10.32, 7.24 ± 6.31, and 2.47 ± 3.32 µg/dL, respectively; p <0.001). Weight-for-age z-scores of the urban children were significantly lower than that of the rural children (-1.41 ± 1.88 vs. 0.20 ± 1.16, p <0.001). Children with elevated BLLs had poorer nutritional status (p = 0.05) than those with normal BLLs. Over 90% of the parents did not know that lead causes health problems. In conclusion, the problem of lead poisoning in children was found to be high in both urban and rural Bangladesh. A universal lead screening for preschool and school-aged children and a lead education program for parents are recommended for implementation in Bangladesh. [author abstract] [published in International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2009; 6(1):84-95.]
• Public health strategies for western Bangladesh that address the arsenic, manganese, uranium and other toxic elements in their drinking water
  Background: Over 60,000,000 Bangladeshis are drinking water with unsafe concentrations of 1 or more elements. Objectives: To evaluate and improve the drinking water testing and treatment plans for western Bangladesh. Methods: Groundwater from 4 neighborhoods in western Bangladesh was sampled to determine the distributions of arsenic (As), boron (B), barium (Ba), chromium (Cr), iron (Fe), manganese (Mn), molybdenum (Mo), nickel (Ni), lead (Pb), pH, antimony (Sb), selenium (Se), uranium (U), and zinc (Zn). Results: The percentage of tubewells that had concentrations above World Health Organization (WHO) health-based drinking water guidelines were Mn 78%, U 48%, As 33%, Pb 1%, Ni 1%, and Cr 1%. Individual tubewells often had unsafe concentrations of Mn and As, or unsafe concentrations of Mn and U. They seldom had unsafe concentrations of both As and U. Conclusions: These results suggest that the ongoing program of identifying safe drinking water supplies by testing every tubewell for only As will not ensure safe concentrations of Mn, U, Pb, Ni, Cr, and possibly other elements. To maximize efficiency, drinking water testing in Bangladesh should be completed in 3 steps: 1) all tubewells must be sampled and tested for As; 2) if a sample meets the WHO guideline for As, then it should be retested for Mn and U; 3) if a sample meets the WHO guidelines for As, Mn and U, then it should be retested for B, Ba, Cr, Mo, Ni, and Pb. All safe tubewells should be considered for use as public drinking water supplies. [author abstract] [published in Environmental Health Perspectives]
• TB policy in Bangladesh: A civil society perspective [84pp]
  "TB is a leading cause of adult mortality and preventable death in Bangladesh. An estimated 70,000 individuals die from TB each year in Bangladesh—one death every 10 minutes. TB hits the poor and the most economically productive age group hardest, wreaking devastating economic and social impact. Yet many Bangladeshis are unaware of the fact that TB is curable and that treatment is available at public health facilities free of charge… To increase public awareness of TB, the report argues that a multifaceted advocacy and social mobilization strategy is needed."

Educational Resources

• CDC - Travel Information : Indian Subcontinent
• International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (ICDDR,B)
  "ICDDR,B… is an international health research institution located in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh. With the changing trend in the world scenario in health and population over the years, ICDDR,B has expanded its activities to address some of the most critical global health needs. In collaboration with partners from academic and research institutions throughout the world, the Centre conducts research, training and extension activities as well as programme-based activities… Since 1978, the Centre has shared its knowledge and techniques by training more than 20,000 health professionals from over 78 countries of the world. Various courses provide practical training in hospital management of diarrhoeal diseases, epidemiology, biostatistics, family planning, demographic surveillance, and child survival strategies."
• Grameen Bank - the success story from Bangladesh
• Library of Congress, Country Study: Bangladesh
• WHO- Country Health Profile - Bangladesh
• WWW Virtual Library: Bangladesh