GSK, Care team up to deploy skilled workforce for healthcare in Sunamganj

A private initiative has shown that unskilled healthcare providers in rural Bangladesh can be replaced with a skilled workforce.

Senior Correspondentbdnews24.com
Published : 18 April 2017, 04:16 PM
Updated : 18 April 2017, 04:16 PM

International NGO Care Bangladesh has taken up the project with the support of drugmaker GSK in remote villages in the northeastern district of Sunamganj, dominated by quacks or traditional practitioners.

ICDDR,B carried out a midterm review of the project which was disseminated at a seminar on Tuesday.

It showed that skilled care seeking tendency for mothers and children have increased threefold. Improvements have been noticed on pregnancy registration, pregnancy time check-ups, delivery care and exclusive breastfeeding practices after birth.

“The private skilled providers are replacing the unskilled health services,” the review report said as the initiative established a pool of community-based skilled care providers who can practise on their own.

Families prefer the service as they can go door to door.

However, the review found that private service providers cannot respond to emergency calls at night. Poor communication and lack of transport also stand in the way of their services. It also noticed a weak referral system.

The GSK officials at the programme said they would scale up the initiative to the entire district.

Senior government officials, including Joint Secretary for Health Abdul Gaffar Khan, were present at the seminar.