News Archive

Efforts by developed countries to redistribute promised funds to help poorer parts of the world avoid environmental disasters have been described as "dismal" by the foreign minister of Bangladesh. Dipu Moni said wealthier nations must begin immediately delivering the billions of pounds' worth of aid they have earmarked for climate change projects. "Our achievements – social, economic, environmental – of the past decades will be reversed if [rich countries] take away the funds promised for adapting to climate change," she said in an interview. "The disbursement of the financing has been dismal so far. We are not seeing the funds."

The Third regional Sanitation and Hygiene Practitioners’ Workshop organized by the Bangladeshi Rural Advancement Committee (BRAC), WaterAid and IRC International Water and Sanitation Centre will take place from 31 January – 2 February 2012 in the Bangladeshi capital of Dhaka.

There has been increased attention to access to water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) at schools in developing countries, but a dearth of empirical studies on the impact. A research group conducted a cluster-randomized trial of school-based WASH on pupil absence in Nyanza Province, Kenya, from 2007 to 2008.

Methods Public primary schools nested in three geographical strata were randomly assigned and allocated to one of three study arms [water treatment and hygiene promotion (WT & HP), additional sanitation improvement, or control] to assess the effects on pupil absence at 2-year follow-up.

Dr. Jay Graham of George Washington University was in Bangladesh and compiled a photo album of his visit at the link below:

Child malnutrition rates in the south Asian country of Nepal continue to be a child health challenge. According to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), malnutrition is often called a “silent killer.”

The decade-long civil war between Maoist rebels and the government ended only in 2006 and half of Nepal’s population continues to live below the global line of dire poverty of $1.25 per day, the AFP reports. Child and infant malnutrition rates continue to be affected by hunger. Chronic malnutrition has led to stunting in 1.7 million Nepalese children under the age of five. Yet, up to 60 per cent of children in the Achham region are malnourished, and are affected by the lack of sanitation and clean water. Unhygienic conditions can leave the region prone to cholera outbreaks when the monsoon season strikes.

A new and diverse coalition of 15 major global health organizations – including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Save the Children, and World Vision – is calling on the U.S. government for more strategic investment in frontline health workers in the developing world as the most cost-effective way to save the lives of mothers and children, address AIDS and other global health threats, and help advance U.S. economic and strategic interests.

The United States said on Saturday that it would offer Bangladesh close to $1 billion in aid over the next five years.

A U.S. Embassy statement said that the money would go towards alleviating poverty and malnutrition, as well as family planning and the fight against infectious diseases.

Menstrual hygiene management has long been taboo in many countries. During the learning events, participants talked about their efforts to break the silence, working with women and girls to ensure menstrual hygiene management needs are addressed through WASH programs.

The Daily Star, the famous English daily newspaper in Bangladesh, in association with technology and business partners, organized a two-day leadership colloquium in Dhaka on 6-7 January 2012 on “ICT in Health.” This was the first colloquium of its kind in the country, with both international and national experts discussing the current practice of ICT in health care globally. The global experts further mentioned the Bangladesh’s potential to take the lead in ICT for health among developing nations since it has a proven track record of taking initiative to deliver public health program that successfully reach the unreached. The role of Bangladesh’s government and its partnership with different development partners, private organizations, and NGOs to achieve health related MDG goals is already recognized by global community.

Britain will provide GBP 230 million (over USD 350 million) to Bangladesh for improving quality of primary education and health sector over a period of next five years, Xinhua reported.