Health Care For Low Income Slum Dwellers

This healthcare project created Access to Quality Health Care services in Kamrangir Char.

The urban poor in Bangladesh endure the worst health care status in the country. The majority of this population often migrates to the city for economic reasons and once in the city suffers from unacceptable  levels of malnutrition, poor hygiene and health due to lack of essential public health services provision and  lack of finances to afford private health care facilities. One such area with urban poor is Kamrangir Char where the slum dwellers are infected with various diseases . Swisscontact was responsible for implementing a project in this area which was funded by Charles Vögele and executed through Paricharja, an established non government organization which commenced its operation in 1993. The core goal of the project is to increase the access of affordable medical facilities to the slum dwellers in order to keep them economically productive for their livelihood and well being. The project ran its consecutive third phase for the period September 2010 - August 2012.

Service Approach: The healthcare project has been catering to the target group through a two pronged approach i.e operating a health care satellite center in the area and arranging mobile health care units at suitable places. The Kamrangir Char satellite center has been selected because a very large number of the lower income group, including the RMG workers, inhabit this area and the unmet demand for general health care services is considerably high surrounding this area. The mobile units have been catering to twelve different pharmacies where healthcare provisions are available for the target patients.

Major Activities and Services: Paricharja, provides the following health care services:

• General health care services to its clientele with a very nominal or no fees
• Specialized services for skin and sexually transmitted diseases including HIV/AIDS
• Mother and Child Health services
• Diagnostic and pathological services at a minimum rate
• Emergency health care through health bus
• Medicine support for the extreme poor patients
• Creating awareness and community sensitizing on health and hygiene.

Project Impact:
The Project since inception has provided healthcare and medical services so far to about 50,000 patients during a period of four years. The project extended its services to more than 40,000 patients during the phase which ended in August 2012.

Contact Details:
More information on the Project can be obtained from:
Belayet Hossain, National Officer (belayet.hossain@swissscontact.org.bd)