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Geography and Climate

Bangladesh is a state in south Asia. Most of the country lies in the alluvial plain of the Ganges, Brahmaputra and Meghna rivers, and mountain ranges lie in the southeastern corner. It has a primarily tropical climate. The country is within the area of influence of the southwest monsoon in which around 75 percent of all rainfall occurs in the rainy season. If the monsoon is late, this often leads to drought. In addition, deforestation in the neighboring countries of India and Nepal as well as hurricanes and heavy rainfall are frequent causes of natural disasters.


Problems

The health sector in Bangladesh is faced with a shortage of qualified medical personnel and technical equipment to provide medical care to the public. The level of medical care available to the poorer sections of society is inadequate and as a result, maternal and infant mortality rates in Bangladesh are very high.


Action

Plan held training courses together with its partner organizations in the program region of Hatibandha for health aid workers, medical specialists and traditional male/female midwives. The training included basic medical care.

Meetings were organized at regular intervals to give community members the opportunity to discuss the current needs of the community. In addition, the network of non-governmental organizations was extended in order to promote further collaboration in the area of family planning.


The health aid workers were sourced from local organizations. Plan ensured acceptance of nursing staff among the families. It is also important for the families to have easy access to the services offered by the health aid workers. Around 21,000 mothers and children benefited from the improved quality of medical care.   

To ensure sustainability of the project, Plan and its partners encouraged the residents of the community and the health staff to become actively involved in the planning of activities. The project was monitored by local organizations at the community level. Meetings attended by all participants ensured the flow of information.   

The total cost of the project was around 30.000, 00 Euro, 27.600,00 Euro of which were contributed by Arthrex. The funding for this project was obtained exclusively from the ArthroCologne Congress in June 2007.


Outcome of the Project

This project made significant improvements to medical care in the region and reduced the high maternal and infant mortality rates as more qualified male and female midwives were trained. Additionally, the children underwent medical examinations to prevent infestation by worms.


Bangladesh