Five million people in Bangladesh are pushed into poverty every year due to out-of-pocket healthcare costs.
People seeking healthcare in Bangladesh face significant challenges, including insufficient access to quality services and facilities, stigma and lack of knowledge about healthcare, misinformation, and high out-of-pocket costs. As communicable and non-communicable diseases increasingly overlap, vulnerable communities face growing risks to their health and wellbeing.
Our community-driven healthcare programme employs 50,000 women community health workers who deliver quality, affordable primary healthcare services in their own communities and facilitate linkages with formal providers. We reach 80 million people across Bangladesh through door-to-door health promotion and services and a wide range of other facilities, projects and staff.
NUMBERS
80 million
1.6 million
700,000
Spotlight: COVID-19 response
In partnership with the Government of Bangladesh, our response focuses on reducing the spread of the virus by enhancing community resilience and strengthening the healthcare system. Our intervention combines communication, testing, facilitating vaccination, door-to-door syndromic surveillance, tele-medicine and capacity enhancement of local healthcare facilities. These activities are powered by our network of 50,000 community health workers equipped with digital tools, trained vaccinators, volunteers and community leaders across the nation.
HNPP's Impact During the Pandemic March 2020-2021
Prevention
Response
Vaccination
Testing
Why is the community health worker model effective in COVID-19 response?
BRAC's 50,000 community health workers inform people about vaccinations, counter myths and direct people to vaccination services, in addition to providing essential healthcare services. 700 of our workers are also directly supporting the government to administer vaccinations. BRAC's community health workers are trusted in their communities, and are playing a vital role in allaying fears and anxieties about the vaccinations, particularly with women in rural areas. They represent a crucial infrastructure that is not available on the same scale in the most developed countries, and their work is currently providing essential learning about the key role of community health workers in responding to a global pandemic.
TESTIMONIALS
We accomplished building community shields to tackle COVID-19 by having partners like BRAC on our side. Since the beginning of the outbreak in Bangladesh, BRAC has been driving community mobilisation and awareness building work, reaching millions of people.
STORIES
VIDEOS
WHAT WE DO
HOW WE DO IT
Last mile access
Digital transformation
Social enterprise
WHY IT WORKS
Community ownership
Continuum of care
Social equity
LEARN MORE
C19RM FUNDING REQUEST
Invitation for Public Comment/Feedback on the Bangladesh C19RM Funding Request.
Click here to view the proposal.
