Health
May 28, 2022
Life would be impossible without menstruation. Then why is it considered embarrassing? Thousands of schools across Bangladesh are trying to change that.
April 27, 2022
Bangladesh is on track to end malaria - cases fell by 91% in endemic areas (from 84,690 in 2008 to 7,294 in 2021). Real-time case notification, strong surveillance systems and continuation of treatment and services even during the pandemic have all contributed to this feat.
April 27, 2022
The journey of BRAC’s frontline health workers has not been easy. They are women who defy patriarchal norms everyday in order to serve their communities - and save lives in the process.
April 7, 2022
BRAC is currently the hub of the world's largest non-government network of community health workers. Across Bangladesh, this network of 50,000 women are taking essential healthcare to the doorsteps of families and reaching the last mile, standing by 80 million people every year.
March 24, 2022
Tuberculosis (TB) is the second deadliest infectious disease after COVID-19. In the cramped Rohingya camps where one million people live in southern Bangladesh, the disease can spread fast. A new initiative is trying to keep up with its speed - by bringing access to TB diagnosis on wheels.
January 27, 2022
Bangladesh has recently passed the National Mental Healthcare Act 2018, and is about to finalise the breakthrough National Mental Health Strategy. However, resources and investment remain low, with 0.49 mental health caregivers per 100,000 population. In this backdrop, how can mental health be destigmatised and be brought to the doorsteps of everyone?
October 10, 2021
As Bangladesh weathers the most challenging time of this generation - the COVID-19 pandemic - mental health and wellbeing has become more important than ever. BRAC is committed to enhancing community wellbeing through tackling stigma and increasing access to mental health services through culturally appropriate and compassionate approaches.
August 19, 2021
The Rohingya population had to flee some of the worst forms of persecution when they left Myanmar in 2017. Since then, living in the world’s largest makeshift settlement situated at the edge of Bangladesh in Cox’s Bazar has meant facing new forms of challenges - floods, cyclones, landslides and fires - often adding to their losses and layers of trauma.
Shantir apa (sisters of peace) are leading a quiet revolution within the Rohingya camps. To help families strengthen their capacities to cope, they are ensuring an empathetic space to decompress and manage mental distress.
July 12, 2021
May 30, 2021
Every year on 28 May, nonprofit organisations, government agencies and the private sector come together to celebrate Menstrual Hygiene Day, and advocate for the importance of menstrual hygiene. This year’s theme is action and investment in menstrual hygiene and health. Since the inception of BRAC’s water and sanitation programme in 2006, it has taken a holistic approach in addressing menstrual health, working closely with the government and other stakeholders to improve the situation.
May 9, 2021
April 25, 2021
A saying goes in Africa: “If you think you are too small to make a difference, you have not spent a night with a mosquito”. The five millimetre species has overwhelmed humankind for over 500,000 years, making it one of the world's deadliest antiquated disease-carriers. Bangladesh, however, has made remarkable progress over the past 50 years in battling malaria, one of the most deadly diseases the mosquito carries.