|
|
 |
 |
|
World Breast Feeding
Week Observed
PM directed implementation
of Alternative Child Food
Act
 Prime
Minister Sheikh Hasina
directed the authorities
concerned to enforce the
Alternative Child Food
Marketing Act at all levels
and stressed immediate need
for separate management of
the entire spectrum of
nutrition programmes. She
also instructed the Ministry
of Health and the
Breastfeeding Foundation to
work jointly to ensure
children's breastfeeding and
their comprehensive food as
well as necessary nutrition
of the mothers.
More...
Reopening community clinics an
epoch-making step
 Health
and Family Welfare Minister of
Bangladesh Dr AFM Ruhal Huq said
that the reopening of community
clinics was an epoch-making
initiative of the present government
for ensuring treatment facilities of
people. Prof. Ruhal said, the
government has already opened over
10,000 community clinics across the
country and 66 percent of the total
population would get health care, if
a total of 18,000 community clinics
will open by 2014. The minister was
addressing in a “National
Dissemination Workshop on
Revitalization of Community Clinics”
as Chief Guest at the Spectra
Convention Centre, Dhaka. World
Health Representative to Bangladesh
Dr Duangvadee Sungkhobol and
Additional Health Secretary of the
Health Ministry Mr Barun Dev Mitra,
among others, addressed in the
morning session of the workshop with
Director General of Health Services
Prof Shah Manir Hossain in the
chair. The day long dissemination
workshop was organized into three
separate sessions. The other two
sessions were addressed by Prof.
(Dr) Syed Modasser Ali, Advisor to
the Hon’ble Prime Minister and Dr
Capt. (Rtd) Mozibur Rahman Fakir,
State Minister for the Ministry of
Health and Family Welfare.
A
Training manual on
communication skills in
medicine published
here to
download
A training manual on
“Communication Skills in
Medicine” has been developed
and jointly published by the
Bangladesh College of
Physicians and Surgeons (BCPS)
and the Directorate General
of Health Services (DGHS)
with technical and financial
support from World Health
Organization (WHO) Country
Office for Bangladesh aiming
to improve the communication
skills of medical students
and practitioners.
More...
Seminar on Fast
Track Licensing for
WHO Pre- qualified
Vaccines held
 Bangladesh
is progressing through a set
of required steps of a
pre-qualification process to
produce high quality
vaccines. The Bangladesh
Health Minister, Prof. A F M
Ruhal Haque has assured all
concerned of his firm
commitment to get it done as
early as possible. He was
speaking as Chief Guest at a
“Dissemination Seminar on
Fast Track Licensing for WHO
Pre-qualified Vaccines Used
in EPI” held on October 11
2009.
More...
Expert Group
Meeting organized by WHO EDM Unit
 A
four-day-long Expert Group Meeting
to review and finalize the Handbook
and Facilitator’s Guide on Medical
Ethics was held during 27-30 October
2009 at a local hotel in Dhaka. The
aim of the meeting was to review and
finalize the contents of the
above-mentioned documents. The
Director-General of Health Services
of the Bangladesh Government,
Professor Shah Monir Hossain, was
the Chief Guest at the inaugural
function of the four-day-long
meeting, while Acting WHO
Representative to Bangladesh, Dr
Khaled Hassan, was the Special
Guest. The meeting was chaired by
Prof. M Muzaherul Huq, WHO Regional
Advosor of Human Resources for
Health. The Meeting was organized
with support of the WHO Regional
Office for South-East Asia. Twenty
experts from different countries of
the South East Asian Region
attended the meeting.
Seminar held on Good Manufacturing
Practices for Drugs
T he
Bangladesh Health & FW Minister, Professor Dr AFM
Ruhal Haque warned against pilferage of medicine from
hospitals and health complexes, and also against
manufacturing and sales of adulterated drugs.
Addressing a seminar at the CIRDAP auditorium on
November 3 2009, organized by the Drug Administration,
with the assistance from WHO Bangladesh, he said, “we
can be proud of our pharmaceutical manufacturing
sector. After fulfilling 97% of the local demand for
medicines we are exporting to 72 countries, including
some EU countries. This is good news for our economy.
Some of our local companies are producing High Tech
drugs, such as those prescribed for Cancer and insulin
therapy. We will also be able to produce
export-quality vaccines in the coming years”.
More...
Joint UN Programme on Violence
Against Women
The formal signing ceremony of a new
joint UN-Agency initiative on
“Violence Against Women” took place
on Thursday, December 10, 2009 at a
local hotel. The Spanish MDG
Achievement Fund (MDG-F) has
approved $7,997,378 for Bangladesh
for this joint UN programme to
address issues relating to violence
against women in the country. This
will be a joint project, to be
implemented by the Government of
Bangladesh and nine other UN
Agencies: that include UNFPA, Unicef,
WHO, ILO, UNDP, IOM, UNESCO, UNIFEM
and UNAIDS.
On behalf of the United Nations, the
UN Resident Coordinator in
Bangladesh, and the Secretary,
Economic Relations Division of the
Ministry of Finance, on behalf of
the Government, signed the
programme document. The Heads of the
nine UN Agencies and the Secretaries
of the implementing eleven
ministries also signed the document
at the ceremony. The ministries are:
Ministry of Women and Children
Affairs, Ministry of Law, Justice
and Parliamentary Affairs, Ministry
of Social Welfare, Ministry of
Education, Ministry of Religious
Affairs, Ministry of Health and
Family Welfare, Ministry of
Information, Ministry of Labour and
Employment, Ministry of Youth and
Sports, Ministry of Local
Government, Rural Development and
Cooperatives and Ministry of
Expatriate Welfare and Overseas
Employment. The Multi-donor Trust
Fund of UNDP, will oversee the
financial aspects of the project and
fund release, over the three-year
project period, beginning in January
2010.
World Health Day 2009 observed
 The
World Health Day (WHD) was observed in Bangladesh as
elsewhere across the Globe on Tuesday, the April 7
2009 with the slogan ‘Safe Lives: Make Hospitals Safe
in Emergencies’. With the prime focus on the theme of
the day “Health facilities in emergencies”, the
government organised a series of interesting week-long
events beginning from April 7 in all the health
facilities of the country to ensure best services
through utilizing existing resources with a commitment
to increasing health care facilities and services for
the disaster-hit people during emergency situations.
More...
World No Tobacco Day - 2009 Observed
Pictorial Health Warnings on
tobacco products urged
On May 31, 2009, the World
No-Tobacco Day was observed
all over Bangladesh9
, as in
other countries. This year
the theme of the day was
‘Tobacco Health Warnings’
underscoring the need for
using picture warnings that
have been proven
particularly effective at
making people aware of the
health risks of tobacco use
and convincing smokers to
quit. Various Government and
non-government organizations
and civil societies held
rallies, discussions,
seminars, and other advocacy programmes in observance of
the day.
More...
World Hepatitis Day
Observed
The World Hepatitis Day was observed in Bangladesh as
elsewhere across the globe on Tuesday, May 19th.
Different health-related and social development
organizations of Bangladesh arranged a series of
events to mark the day. The Liver Foundation of
Bangladesh organized a day-long program that included
rallies, seminars, screening documentaries on aspects
of Hepatitis-B & C, publication and distribution of
leaflets and brochures.
More...
An outline of WHO’s Eleventh
General Programme of Work
WHO will fulfill its
priorities through six core
functions set out in the
Eleventh General Programme
of Work (GPW):
1.
providing leadership on
matters critical to health
and engaging in partnerships
where
joint action is needed
2.
shaping the research agenda
and stimulating the
generation, translation and
dissemination
of
valuable knowledge
3.
setting norms and standards,
and promoting and monitoring
their implementation
4.
articulating ethical and
evidence-based policy
options3
5.
providing technical support,
catalysing change and
building sustainable
institutional
capacity
6.
monitoring the health
situation and assessing
health trends.
More...
Pandemic H1N1
2009
fact sheet Q & A
More...
WHO Regional Workshop on
MPOWER Policy Package
 A
four-day Regional Workshop
on MPOWER Policy Package for
Strengthening Tobacco
Control Efforts was
organized by World Health
Organization from 13 to 16
April 2009 in Dhaka,
Bangladesh. The Honorable
Minister of Health and
Family Welfare, Dr A.F.M.
Ruhal Haque, inaugurated the
workshop on April 13 2009,
with a call for combating
the harmful effects of
tobacco use on health.
More...
WHO disseminated report on
Global Tobacco Epidemic,
2008--
The MPOWER package
Tobacco Control
Capacity Building Workshop
organized
 A
Tobacco Control Capacity
Building Training Workshop
was organized from 15 - 19
March 2009 at the Dhaka
Sheraton Hotel by Johns
Hopkins Bloomberg School of
Public Health (JHBSPH) and
WHO-BAN, with support of the
Bangladesh Ministry of
Health (MOH&FW). The
objectives of the training
were:
More...
Bangladesh introduces new
combination vaccine
 Bangladesh has just
introduced a new combination
vaccine that will protect
its children against five
killer diseases through one
injection, including, for
the first time, the deadly
bacterium Haemophilus
influenzae type b (Hib) that
causes some severe forms of
pneumonia and meningitis.
The launching ceremony for
introduction of the Hib
vaccine in the
form of pentavalent vaccine
(DPT, Hep-B and Hib) was
held on 15 January 2009 at
the Zia Hall, of the Khulna
City Corporation in the city
of Khulna.
More...
Bangladesh Guide
on Principles of Emergency
Health Care finalized
 Bangladesh
Guide
on Principles of Emergency
Health Care for advanced and
periphery level service
providers were finalized
through a consultative
meeting held in the
conference room of IEDCR,
at Mohakhali, in Dhaka.
Describing the handbook as a
unique efrt, the Director
General of Health Services,
Prof. M A Faiz said, we
should encourage all to
create a common
understanding on emergency
health care methods and its
multiple benefits.
More...
Managing Information For
Action: a new concept in
disease control
Many disease control
programme officers have
suboptimal data management
skills for collecting,
processing and interpreting
routine surveillance data.
This makes it difficult to
set programme priorities,
plan operations, implement
and evaluate programme
activities. It results in
the lack of evidence-based
programme management.
More...
Workshop held on the
WHO-UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme
A national workshop to
reconcile differences in
official estimates of water
supply and sanitation
coverage with those reported
by the WHO-UNICEF Joint
Monitoring Programme (JMP)
was held on 12 January 2009.
More...
Involvement of the private
sector in the programmatic
management of multidrug-resistant
tuberculosis (MDR-TB)
Dr Knut
Lönnroth, focal point for
public-private mix (PPM) and
health systems in the Stop
TB Department of WHO-HQ
visited Bangladesh from
25-29 January 2009. The
purpose of his visit was to
undertake a rapid assessment
of the involvement of the
private sector in the
programmatic management of
MDR-TB as part of the
preparations taken by WHO
for the First Ministerial
Meeting of the high MDR- and
XDR-TB burden countries,
which will be organized in
Beijing, China from 1-3
April 2009.
More...
The Second Phase of the
WHO Supported NIPSOM-Mahidol
University Collaborative
Project Completed
 The
closing session of a
week-long workshop for
developing curricula for
joint NIPSOM-Mahidol public
health courses took place in
Dhaka on 23rd
October 2008. During this
event, Prof. Zafor Ullah
Chowdhury, Director of the
National Institute of
National Institute of
Preventive and Social
Medicine (NIPSOM), a WHO
Collaborating Centre, opined
that “building on the
success in the first phase
of our collaboration
focusing on NIPSOM’s
capacity building, today we
have completed successfully
the second phase of our
collaboration focusing on
joint actions for public
health workforce
development”.
More.
‘WHO WNTD 2009 Award’ handed over to the Minister for
Health and Family Welfare, Professor A F M Ruhal
Haque, by WHO, Bangladesh
 The
World No Tobacco Day 2009
Award, given over by the
Director General of WHO, has
been handed over to
Professor A F M Ruhal Haque,
the Minister for Health and
Family Welfare, People’s
Republic of Bangladesh, on
14 July in a ceremonial
observance of the “World No
Tobacco Day”, organized by
WHO Country Office in
collaboration with the
Government of Bangladesh.
More...
Nursing
profession to be upgraded to world standard: PM
The Prime Minister of
Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina,
renewed her commitment to
further strengthen the
nursing profession in
Bangladesh to a world-class
standard, and help to secure
a better economic
environment for them, with
enhanced nurses' social
dignity.
More...
Workshop on Indoor Air Pollution held
The World Health Organization
(WHO), Bangladesh and German Technical Cooperation (GTZ)
jointly organized a 3-day long workshop on Indoor
Air Pollution (IAP) held during 15-17 June 2009 at
Dhaka Sheraton Hotel. The workshop focused on health
impacts of IAP, reviewed experiences of
interventions, explored linkages with climate change
and broader development issues. The WHO model
country action plan on household energy and health
was also reviewed in the workshop.
More...
Regional consultation on a protocol on
illicit trade in tobacco products
 The
Regional consultation
meeting for the South-East
Asia Region prior to the
third session of the
Intergovernmental
Negotiating Body (INB) on a
Protocol on Illicit Trade in
Tobacco Products was held
from 11-12 June 2009 in
Dhaka, Bangladesh, hosted by
the Government of Bangladesh
in collaboration with WHO
country office.
More..
World
Heart Day Observed
Work With
Heart
 Heart
diseases or cardiovascular
diseases (CVDs) are the
world’s largest killers,
claiming more than17.2
million lives a year. It
often affects many people in
middle age, very often
severely limiting the income
and savings of affected
individuals and their
families. 80 percent of
these premature deaths could
be avoided by controlling
the main risk factors:
tobacco, unhealthy diet and
physical inactivity. This
was the key messages for
this year’s “World Heart
Day” with the theme “Work
With Heart”.
More...
World No Tobacco Day - 2009 Observed
Pictorial Health Warnings on
tobacco products urged
On May 31, 2009, the World
No-Tobacco Day was observed
all over Bangladesh, as in
other countries. This year
the theme of the day was
‘Tobacco Health Warnings’
underscoring the need for
using picture warnings that
have been proven
particularly effective at
making people aware of the
health risks of tobacco use
and convincing smokers to
quit. Various Government and
non-government organizations
and civil societies held
rallies, discussions,
seminars, and other advocacy
programmes in observance of
the day.
More...
World Hepatitis Day
Observed
The World Hepatitis Day was observed in Bangladesh as
elsewhere across the globe on Tuesday, May 19th.
Different health-related and social development
organizations of Bangladesh arranged a series of
events to mark the day. The Liver Foundation of
Bangladesh organized a day-long program that included
rallies, seminars, screening documentaries on aspects
of Hepatitis-B & C, publication and distribution of
leaflets and brochures.
More...
The Second Phase of the
WHO Supported NIPSOM-Mahidol
University Collaborative
Project Completed
The
closing session of a
week-long workshop for
developing curricula for
joint NIPSOM-Mahidol public
health courses took place in
Dhaka on 23rd
October 2008. During this
event, Prof. Zafor Ullah
Chowdhury, Director of the
National Institute of
National Institute of
Preventive and Social
Medicine (NIPSOM), a WHO
Collaborating Centre, opined
that “building on the
success in the first phase
of our collaboration
focusing on NIPSOM’s
capacity building, today we
have completed successfully
the second phase of our
collaboration focusing on
joint actions for public
health workforce
development”.
More.
Tobacco tax
increased in the
Bangladesh National
Budget 2008-09
WHO Bangladesh is
supporting a
month-long campaign
activity to observe
the World No
-Tobacco Day 2008.
The Bangladesh
Country Office of
WHO, in
collaboration with
Ministry of Health
and Family Welfare,
has advocated to
the highest level of
the Government for
increasing the tax
on tobacco in the
next national
Budget. The WHO
Professionals
on non-communicable
diseases (NCD) along
with National
Professor Professor
Nurul Islam met with
the Hon'ble
President, Peoples
Republic of
Bangladesh, to
place the issue of
harmful effects of
tobacco consumption
and passive smoking
on health. The
Ministry of Finance
and the Chairman of
the National Board
of Revenue were also
sensitized, and
requested to
consider raising
taxes on all forms
of tobacco, given
the adverse impacts
of smoking on
public health.
It is, thus, a great
leap forward that
the Bangladesh
Finance Adviser to
the Caretaker
Government Mr. A.
B. Mirza Md. Azizul
Islam in his budget
speech on 9 June
2008 has announced
new taxes on
Tobacco.
More...
New WHO publication on
Arsenicosis Detection for
field-level health workers
Building on the success of the
WHO Technical Publication “A Field Guide for
Detection, Management and Surveillance of
Arsenicosis Cases”, a simplified version has now
been published in the Bangla language for training
and as a ready reference for nurses, health
assistants and other grass-roots health workers.
The aim is to considerably increase capacity at
field level to enable the early detection of
Arsenicosis patients. The
simplified guide includes information on early
symptoms including photographs of common skin
lesions and a flowchart to facilitate basic
diagnosis.
More...
WHO’s MEDIUM-TERM
STRATEGIC PLAN (MTSP)
2008-2013 FORMULATED AND
ADOPTED
Over the past 20 years,
there have been major gains
in life expectancy overall,
but there are widening gaps
in health status; some
countries have witnessed
reversals of earlier gains,
because of such factors as
infectious diseases, in
particular HIV/AIDS,
inefficient health services,
and deteriorating social and
economic conditions.
Prospects for achieving the
health-related Millennium
Development Goals are quite
favourable in the Bangladesh
public health scenario.
More...
Global
Handwashing Day Observed in
Bangladesh.
 The
first ever Global
Handwashing Day was observed
on 15th October 2008 with
the aim of raising awareness
on the importance of washing
hands with soap at critical
times. This most basic
of hygiene practices had
been shown to reduce
substantially the incidence
of diarrhoeal disease and
pneumonia, two of the
leading causes of death in
children under five years of
age. The focus of this
year’s campaign was on
school children as agents of
change. School age children
often care for their younger
siblings, and talk to their
parents and relatives about
their school learning.
Changing behaviours requires
long and persistent
programmes to be successful
but well-documented case
studies have shown that
children can be highly
effective in bringing about
behavioural change.
More...
GENDER BASED VIOLENCE
PREVENTION: 16 Days of
activism
Every year the world
celebrates the 16 Days of
Activism against Gender
Violence. It starts on 25th
November, commemorating the
International Day for the
Elimination of Violence
against Women, and ends on
10th December, the
International Human Rights
Day. Gender based violence (GBV)
has been associated to
violation of human rights
especially on enjoyment of
living and fundamental
freedom and becomes a major
public health problem on
physical, psychological and
sexual aspects.
More...
School textbooks in
Bangladesh to have tobacco
control as a life-skill
issue from year 2010
 The
Government of Bangladesh is
going to include tobacco
control issues in school
curriculum and textbooks
from 2010. Currently, a
revision effort is going on,
for the nation’s National
School Curriculum, which is
expected to be complete by
the end of 2009.
The National Curriculum and
Textbook Board (NCTB), under
the Ministry of Education
(MOE), organized a
consultative meeting of
curriculum experts for
development of school
curricula on tobacco control
at the auditorium of NCTB in
December 2008, with the
technical support of WHO.
More...
Second
Round of the 17th NID
Completed
 In
an effort to
sustain its
polio-free status,
Bangladesh observed the 2nd
round of the 17th National
Immunization Day (NID) on 3rd
January 2009 through
administering two drops of
the polio vaccine to 22
million children aged 0-5
years. Albendazole
anti-worm tablets
were also provided to 2 –
5-year-old children along
with the Polio drops. The 1st
round was observed on
December 29, 2008.
More...
Regional Conference on
Health Professions Education
(Dhaka, 23-24 October 2008)
 “We
need to have a holistic and
balanced approach to health
workforce education and give
more attention to ensuring
quality of medical
education, especially in the
rapidly growing private
sector”. Mr A M M Nasir
Uddin, Secretary, MOHFW
emphasized that in his
speech as chief guest in the
inaugural session of the
Regional Conference on
Health Profession Education
organized by Association for
Medical Education (AME),
with the theme “promoting
health through health
professions education”. The
inaugural session was
organized on 23 October. at
Bangladesh College of
Physicians and Surgeons (BCPS)
Auditorium. It was presided
over by Professor Md Saleh
Uddin, President, AME, and
attended by Prof. M A Faiz,
Director General of Health
Services, Prof. Mobin Khan,
President BCPS and Dr.
Duangvadee Sungkhobol, World
Health Organization (WHO)
Representative to
Bangladesh, as Special
Guests.
More...
Health Economics
Course Begins at Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok,
Thailand.
A six-day course on “Economic Principles for Health
Policy and Planning” began on November 03 at the
Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand. The
Course is being organized by the Health Care
Financing Unit of SEARO, WHO and the Centre for
Health Economics of the Chulalongkorn University. It
is part of the current initiative of WHO- SEARO to
enhance capacity of officials of the health
ministries of this region to enable them to
efficiently carry out health sector policy-making
and economic modeling designs. Two officials of the
Ministry of Health and Family Welfare of the
Bangladesh Government are taking part on this
course, with support of the WHO Country Office for
Bangladesh and SEARO. Seven other countries of the
SEA Region are also taking part, with nominated
participants.
Bangladesh remains committed
to UN goals
The UN Day was observed in
Bangladesh on October 24th
through day-long events
organised by the UN Country
Team in Bangladesh, and
other agencies. The day was
observed with a function
commemorating the United
Nations Day at the
Bangladesh-China Friendship
Conference Center in Dhaka.
Bangladesh Government’s
Foreign Affairs Adviser, Mr.
Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury,
while addressing the
inaugural event, reaffirmed
that Bangladesh remains
unswervingly committed to
the goals and aspirations
enshrined in the charter of
the United Nations. He said
this while addressing the
gathering as chief guest on
the event.
More...
WHO disseminated report on
Global Tobacco Epidemic,
2008--
The MPOWER package
The World Health
Organization Bangldesh
Country Office in
collaboration with the
Ministry of Health and
Family Welfare has launched
report on Global Tobacco
Epidemic, 2008 The MPOWER
package in Dhaka
today at Sheraton Hotel with
a call for combating the
harmful effect of tobacco
use.
The WHO
Report on the Global Tobacco
Epidemic, 2008 is the most
successful data collection
effort to date in tobacco
control at the global level.
It provides essential data
representing more than 99%
of the world's population.
It includes country and
regional data on tobacco.
The Bangladesh data was
validated by the ministry of
Health and Family Welfare.
More...
World Health Day
-2008:
Events and official
observance of the
Day in Bangladesh
 The
theme of this year’s
World Health Day is
“Protecting health
from Climate
Change”, and its
official observance
took place in the
Osmani Memorial
Auditorium, Dhaka.
The Chief Guest at
the ceremony was the
Dr. A.M.M. Shawkat
Ali, Honourable
Advisor, Ministry of
Health and Family
Welfare (MOHFW), and
the Chairperson was
Mr. A.K.M. Zafar
Ullah Khan,
Secretary, MOHFW.
Special Guests
included Dr.
Duangvadee
Sungkhobol, WHO
Representative to
Bangladesh, Mrs
Kamrun Nessa Khanam,
Director General of
Family Planning,
Professor Md. Abul
Faiz, Director
General of Health
Services, and Mr.
Raja Devasish Roy,
Special Assistant to
the Honourable Chief
Advisor, Ministry of
Environment and
Forest.
More...
World No Tobacco Day 2008 Observed in Bangladesh
Month long
activities until 30
June 2008
Call for enforcement of Tobacco Control law and total ban
on all sorts of
promotional
activities by
tobacco industry
The “World
No-Tobacco Day” (WNTD)
was observed all
over Bangladesh, as
elsewhere in the
world, on May 31,
2008. This year, the
Government of
Bangladesh has
celebrated the WNTD
through a month-
long chain of
interesting
activities in
collaboration with
NGOs. WHO is
providing technical
support and a seed
grant to celebrate
the occasion.
This year's WNTD
promotes the theme
of Tobacco-free
Youth to protect
young people from
exposure to tobacco.
The tobacco industry
spends tens of
millions of dollars
worldwide each year
to effectively
market its products
in as many ways as
possible. In response to this threat to
young people, this
year's World
No-Tobacco Day
campaign focuses
to ban all
forms of direct and
indirect tobacco
advertising,
including promotion
of tobacco products
and sponsorship, by
the tobacco
industry, of any
events or activities.
On the other
hand, it is now
being expected that
young people
themselves would
take it as a
challenge to raise
their voice and
organize
counter-marketing
activities to
deglamorise tobacco
use.
More...
WHO launches a new
initiative to reduce
maternal mortality
 The
World Health Organization
(WHO) has launched an
initiative to strengthen the
Menstrual Regulation (MR)
programme to reduce maternal
mortality in Bangladesh.
The objective of this
initiative is to ensure
quality of MR services and
its availability to
underserved groups. A
Challenge Fund of $2.73
million, established with
the funding from the
Netherlands Ministry of
Development Cooperation,
will support innovative
proposals that address
delivery of quality MR
services, demand-side
barriers and improving
knowledge and evidence base
for MR policy and programme
directions. WHO has invited
interested NGOs working on
MR, professional and
research institutions to
submit concept notes and
project proposals. Grants
will be awarded through a
competitive process.
 WHO
will provide support to the
Government of Bangladesh in
its in-built stewardship
role in the MR programme
implementation as well as
the partner MR NGOs and
institutions during the
implementation of the
projects under the Challenge
Fund. The latter will
include individual advisory
support as well as quality
assurance of project design
through independent review
committees.
The Secretary of the
Ministry of Health & Family
Welfare, Mr AKM Zafar Ullah
Khan, launched the new
initiative on 23 June 2008.
More...
Call for Proposals:
The WHO is calling for
proposals for improving
menstrual regulation and
related reproductive health
services, management and
research to address the
issue of reduction of
maternal mortality in
Bangladesh. Proposals that
demonstrate innovative
approaches and build on
public-private partnership
will be given a priority.
Country Office holds
a Meeting of new
Programme Directors
and Programme
Managers of the WHO
Work Plan for
2008-09
The WHO Country
Office (CO),
Bangladesh, held a
day-long orientation
event for quality
implementation of
the WHO Biennium
Programme for
2008-09. More than a
100 participants
took part, including
the CO’s technical
officers for
different programme
areas and senior
staff members of the
following units,
which have close
links with
implementation of
the biennial
programme: finance,
fellowships,
personnel,
procurement and
general
administration.
More..
WHO to Launch a New Maternal
Health Initiative
The World Health
Organization (WHO),
Bangladesh Country Office,
will hold a joint launching
of a new landmark initiative
titled: “Strengthening
National Menstrual
Regulation Programme for
Reduction of Maternal
Mortality and Morbidity in
Bangladesh”. Other partners
on this new initiative are:
the Embassy of the Kingdom
of the Netherlands
in Bangladesh, and the
Office of the Director
General of Family Planning.
This initiative is being
supported by the Government
of the Netherlands.
The launching event
will take place on the 23rd
of June and it is expected
that the Secretary, Ministry
of Health & Family welfare,
Mr AKM Zafar Ullah Khan,
will officially launch the
initiative. The DGFP and the
DG-Health Services are
expected to address the
event, in addition to the
WHO Representative in
Bangladesh, and the Head of
Development Cooperation of
the Royal Netherlands
Embassy.
Call for Proposals:
The WHO is calling for
proposals for improving
menstrual regulation and
related reproductive health
services, management and
research to address the
issue of reduction of
maternal mortality in
Bangladesh. Proposals that
demonstrate innovative
approaches and build on
public-private partnership
will be given a priority.
Participation on the
launching ceremony is by
invitation only. However,
interested organizations and
individuals are invited to
attend an information
session on the new
initiative, following the
launching ceremony. The
venue is the Marble Room of
the Dhaka Sheraton Hotel, 1
Minto Road, on Monday, 23
June 2008. Those interested
in attending the information
session may kindly lodge
their interest through email
at
registryban@searo.who.int
or leave a message at the
Reception Desk of the WHO,
tel.: (880-2) 861 4653-5,
861 6097-98.
World Health Day
2008: “Protecting
Health from Climate
Change”
 Four
Bangladesh Nursing
Colleges observed
World Health Day
2008 with Scientific
Seminars to present
the theme,
Protecting Health
from Climate Change,
with their fellow
faculty and
students. WHO Nurse
Officers were
invited to attend
the seminars and
give key note
speeches. The UNFPA
International
Project Officer for
Reproductive Health
also joined the
seminar in Dhaka.
Important issues
were raised by the
presenters and
students, including
causes of climate
change, greenhouse
gasses, weather
patterns, and
natural disasters
related to climate
change. Climate
sensitive diseases
were also reviewed
and explained by the
panelists
More...
World Day for Safety
and Health at Work
28 April 2008:
A
special national
seminar to observe
the World Day for
Safety and Health at
Work was held at the
national Press Club
VIP Lounge in Dhaka
today. The aim is
to raise awareness
of the importance of
safe, healthy and
decent work. This
year’s theme is
“Managing risks in
the work
environment”, and it
is an area of public
health that WHO is
giving increasing
attention to through
its support to the
member states. The
International Labour
Organisation
estimates that each
year in Bangladesh
11,700 workers
suffer fatal
accidents, and a
further 24,500 die
from work-related
diseases. It also
estimates that a
further 8 million
workers suffer
injuries at work –
many of which result
in permanent
disability.
More...
Long Lasting
Insecticide-treated
Nets (LLINs)
distributed in
Rangamati
A formal programme
of distribution of
Long Lasting
Insecticide-treated
Bed Nets (LLINs)
took place in
Rangamati on 03
January 2008.
Rangamati is a hill
district where
malaria is
prevalent. The
inaugural function
was held in the
Rangamati Hill
District Council
Auditorium. Mr.
Joytirindra Bodhipriyo
Larma (Santhu Larma),
Chairman, Regional
Hill Council; Mr.
Jagat Jyoti Chakma,
Chairman, Rangamati
Hill District
Council, and Dr
Duangvadee
Sungkhobol, WHO
Representative to
Bangladesh, attended
the function as
guests of honour.
The former Adviser
to the Caretaker
Government for
Health launched the
distribution
programme. Officials
from the government,
NGOs including BRAC,
and several local
leaders, mediamen,
and senior civil
society
representatives were
present in the
inaugural function.
The use of
insecticide- treated
bed nets for
protection from
mosquito bites and
reducing malaria
transmission is an
effective way to
control malaria. A
total of 1.6 million
Long Lasting
Insecticidal Nets (LLINs)
will be distributed
to vulnerable
families in 13 high-
malaria-endemic
districts of
Bangladesh with
support of the
Global Fund Grant (GFATM
Round-6). In
addition, early
diagnosis by
microscopy and Rapid
Diagnostic Tests (RDT)
and treatment by
Artemisinine-based
Combination Therapy
(ACT-Coartem) will
be provided to
achieve 50%
reduction of malaria
morbidity and
mortality by 2012.
The World Health
Organization (WHO
Bangladesh Country
Office) is
providing technical
support to the GFATM
malaria project,
being currently
implemented by the
Bangladesh
Government through
assistance from an
NGO Consortium (a
group pf 14 NGOs led
by BRAC, a leading
national NGO).
The WHO Regional
Director pledged
support for health
development
in Banglades
Joint Launching of
WHO Country
Cooperation Strategy
2008–2013,
Bangladesh held in
Dhaka
Dhaka, 2 November
2007---The World
Health
Organization’s
Regional Director
for South East Asia,
Dr Samlee
Plianbangchang
pledged the WHO
support for health
development in
Bangladesh .
Dr Samlee
Plianbangchang,
 Regional
Director, WHO
South-East Asia
Region,
Major-General (Rtd.)
Dr. ASM Matiur
Rahman, Adviser for
Health & Family
Welfare, and Mr
Anwarul Iqbal,
Adviser for Local
Government, Rural
Development &
Cooperatives jointly
launched the WHO
Country Cooperation
Strategy (CCS)
2008-2013 for
Bangladesh yesterday
1 November at Hotel
Sonargaon, Dhaka.
More...
Three UN agencies
signed MOU of $31
million donation to
reduce maternal and
neonatal deaths in
Bangladesh
 Dhaka,
7th June,
2007:
The health and well
being of mothers and
newborns has
received a
significant boost
with the Government
of Bangladesh taking
the lead UN joint
initiative has been
developed through
the collaborative
efforts of three
agencies, United
Nations Population
Fund (UNFPA), the
United Nations
Children's Fund
(UNICEF) and the
World Health
Organization (WHO)
with financial
supports from the
Department for
International
Development (DFID),
UK and the European
Commission(EC)
worth $31.2 million.
The funding will
support Bangladesh
Government’s
“Accelerating
Progress towards
Maternal and
Neonatal Mortality
and Morbidity
Reduction”
project, which will
be jointly
implemented by the
Government, UNFPA,
UNICEF and WHO.
More...
World No Tobacco Day
Observed in
Bangladesh
National Tobacco
Control Cell
established under
the Ministry of
Health & Family
Welfare with the
support of WHO
1 June 2007, Dhaka
--
The “World No
Tobacco Day” was
observed all over
Bangladesh, as
elsewhere in the
world, on May 31,
2007. This year’s
theme for the Day
was "Smoke-free
inside: Create and
enjoy 100%
smoke-free
environments". The
purpose of the Day
was to focus on the
dangers of using
tobacco, the
business practices
of tobacco
companies, what WHO
is doing to fight
the tobacco
epidemic, and what
people around the
world can do to
protect the right to
health and healthy
living for
themselves and for
future generations.
More...
International Health
Regulations enter into force
WHO adopts new regulations
to prevent spread of
infectious diseases
Dhaka, 15 June 2007:
The International
Health Regulations (IHR
2005) come into force,
within the two years target
set by the 58th
World Health Assembly that
met in Geneva in May 2005.
These regulations are
relevant to keep pace with
the changing health scenario
of global health security.
They are a contemporary,
updated version of the
International Health
Regulations (IHR1969) which
will afford maximum security
against the international
spread of diseases and
public health events while
ensuring minimum
interference with
international travel and
trade.
More...
World Blood Donor
Day Observed in
Bangladesh
National Policy
on safe blood
transfusion has been
adopted by the
Ministry of Health &
Family Welfare with
the support of WHO
15 June 2007, Dhaka
-- The “the World
Blood Donor Day
2007”
 was observed
all over Bangladesh,
as elsewhere in the
world, on June 14,
2007. On 58th World
Health Assembly it
was declared that
World Blood Donor
day should be
celebrated on 14
June each year in
honor of scientist
Karl Lanstainer’s
birthday who
discovered ABO blood
grouping system in
human being.
More...
Second Stakeholders’
Consultation on the
WHO CCS
2008-13
A second
“Stakeholders’
Consultation on the
WHO- Bangladesh
Country
 Cooperation
Strategy (CCS),
2008–2013” took
place on the 17th of
April 2007 in Dhaka.
This event was the
follow-up to the
first stakeholders’
consultation that
WHO organized in
December 2006 to
obtain views on
future priorities
for improved
engagement of WHO in
Bangladesh. Taking
into account the
recommendations from
the December 2006
Stakeholders’
consultation, the
first draft of the
CCS documents was
prepared and
circulated to the
participants. The
draft CCS was
carefully reviewed
during the second
Consultation.
More...
Consultative Meeting on
Women’s Health and Domestic
Violence against Women held
in Dhaka
Following the
recent launch of the WHO
Multi-country Study on
Women’s Health and Domestic
Violence against Women,
Bangladesh has embarked on
multi-sectoral dialogue and
consultations to strengthen
efforts in addressing this
subject in Bangladesh.The
meeting conducted by the
Bangladesh Centre for
Communication Programs with
the support of WHO was held
at ICDDR,B on 30 November
2006.
More...
First round of the
14th National Immunization Day Observed
I n an effort to eradicate the
re-emergence of polio, Bangladesh has observed the
first round of the 14th National Immunization Day (NID)
on Saturday, 25th November 2006. This is a new drive
to immunize 24 million children under the age of
five. The second round of the NIDs will be conducted
on December 23rd 2006.
Since the detection of the
poliovirus in March this year, after an absence of
about 5 years, there has been four polio NIDs which
took place on April 16th, May 13th, June 11th and
August 6th. It is estimated that the first four
rounds covered between 95 to 97 per cent of
under-five children in the country.
The Government of Bangladesh,
with support from UNICEF, WHO, Rotary International
and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
(CDC, Atlanta, USA) decided to immunize all children
under the age of five across the country when the
first re-emergent case of polio was detected earlier
in the year.
The Advisor to the Ministry of
Health and Family Welfare of the Bangladesh
Government, Professor Sufia Rahman, inaugurated
the 1st round of the 14th National Immunization
Day by administering polio vaccines to a number of
children at a ceremony held at the EPI Building of
the Bangladesh Health Services office in Dhaka,
Bangladesh, on Friday, November 24th 2006.
Speaking on the occasion, she
hoped that, during the current round, 100 per cent
children of the target group will be reached through
the combined effort.
With the Director General of
Health Services, Dr Shahjahan Biswas, in the chair,
the inaugural function was addressed by a joint
secretary of the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare
(MOHFW), Mr. Shafiqul Islam, the DG of Family
Planning, Mr. Abdul Mannan, Chairman of Rotary’s
Polio-Plus Committee, Mr. Iftekharul Alam, the
UNICEF Representative to Bangladesh, Mr.
Louis-Georges Arsenault, and WHO Representative to
Bangladesh, Dr. Duangvadee Sungkhobol.
“The decision of the Government
of Bangladesh to conduct the two additional rounds
of NIDs came in response to the new cases of
importation of the polio virus, in keeping with a
standing WHO guideline on polio eradication. To
control the transmission of polio virus, it is
necessary to reach all children including those in
hard-to-reach areas and those who frequently travel
long distances. The Government’s initiative to
strengthen the existing surveillance system and
prompt action regarding quick rounds of vaccination
will play a vital role in containing transmission of
the virus. We are optimistic that we will be able to
make Bangladesh polio-free once again, through our
combined effort and be able to reach the un-reached
children this time”, said Dr Duangvadee Sungkhobol,
WHO Representative to Bangladesh.
The first round of the 14th NID
is particularly important as it combines polio
vaccines with Vitamin A capsules for children aged
between 1 and 5 years, and de-worming tablets for
children aged between 2 and 5. Vitamin A
supplementation provides a cost-effective way to
protect children against Vitamin A deficiency that
can cause serious health and growth hazards, and
could increase vulnerability to several other
diseases.
In order to ensure total
elimination of polio, the government will also hold
4 rounds of NIDs in 2007 and continue 2 rounds of
NIDs every year from 2008, until bordering India,
where polio cases are often encountered, turns
polio-free.
The Global Polio Eradication
Initiative (GPEI) works with governments around the
world to reduce the incidence of polio and is
spearheaded by WHO, Rotary International, the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and
UNICEF. The GPEI has helped reduce the incidence of
polio by more than 99 per cent since its launch in
1988, from 350,000 annual cases to only 1526 cases
in 2006. |
|
|
WHO SEA Region
Health Ministers Adopt the “Dhaka Declaration”
 The
Health Ministers of the WHO South-East Asia region,
participating in the 24th Health
Ministers Meeting at Dhaka, Bangladesh, adopted the
“Dhaka Declaration” which calls for concerted and
joint efforts to develop national policies and
regulations that would enhance the availability of
trained manpower in service delivery settings, with
an emphasis on pro-poor health interventions. The
Declaration has particularly emphasized the need for
immediate measures to start the implementation of
medium and long-term national plans for Human
Resources for Health (HRH). The Ministers reiterated
their commitment to the WHO World Health Assembly
Resolutions related to HRH, particularly the
strengthening of public health workforce in each
SEAR country. The principal thrust of this
Declaration was on development on training,
education and research of health care personnel --
with a renewed call to garner more resources for
better health planning and capacity building of
health care workforce in the Member States of the
WHO SEA Region.
Human resources for health are
absolutely essential for operating the health
service system in any country. They save valuable
lives. These providers support the health care
delivery system and make them work, standing at the
core of the system. They promote health, prevent
illness, provide curative and diagnostic support,
and foster the strengthening of rehabilitation
programmes.
The Regional
Committee (RC) Meeting: The 59th RC
Meeting, held in Dhaka, Bangladesh, in August 2006,
deliberated at length on the issue of HRH. This
session was titled: Strengthening public health
workforce in SEAR countries and Regional strategic
plan for human resource development. The Regional
Committee was mindful of the fact that effective and
efficient management of existing human resources for
health is one of the most precious and important
resources of the health system which would lead to
effective programme delivery and significant
improvements in the performance of the health
system. It also noted with concern the unacceptable
shortages, and imbalances of skill-mix.
The
Committee urged Member States to establish planning
teams to develop multi-sectoral health workforce
plans as committed in the Dhaka Declaration.
It urged members to develop and implement national
strategies taking into account the full range of
health workers, community health workers and migrant
health workers. It urged countries to invest in the
development of human resources; to strengthen
capacity of training institutions with a focus on
public health orientation and nursing and midwifery
and to revitalize the role of community health
workers.
It asked WHO to develop a package of interventions
and tools; to provide technical support to Member
States; to strengthen training capacity; to support
exiting regional partnerships and networks such as
Asia Pacific Action Alliance on Human resource for
health and to facilitate further collaboration
between schools of public health and health
workforce training institutions in the Region. |
|
|
|
Bangladesh Prepares a National Policy on Health
Emergency Management
 Bangladesh
has faced several major natural disasters and is
prone to cyclones, flooding, tidal-waves, and even
earthquakes. Such calamities give rise to serious
health problems and have always been accompanied by
a rapid increase in the number of cases of
water-borne diseases ands other infectious
illnesses. Given such a scenario, the Bangladesh
Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoH), in
collaboration with WHO-Bangladesh, has prepared a
“National Policy on Health Emergency Management” and
“Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) for health
emergency management”. The purpose of the Policy is
to define what needs to be done to cope with the
adverse public health consequences of natural
disasters and emergencies, in the context of
Bangladesh. This Policy is being implemented at the
ground, operational level through adoption of the
SOPs that have been recently developed.
The National Policy covers the
following aspects:
-
 Administration and
Coordination: defines which Departments and
Ministries shall work together, to help minimize
lead-time and avoid work duplication. It will
help to utilize medical resources better.
-
Information Management:
defines the need for the establishment of a
one-stop information storage, retrieval and
dissemination centre for health information, as
they relate to particular natural disasters.
-
Public Health Surveillance:
the Policy has helped set up an early-warning
system for epidemic-prone diseases and
strengthen the epidemic response capacity.
Medical intelligence will stand strengthened
through systematic, round-the-year surveillance
and information collection.
-
Stocking and Management of
emergency medical supplies: Improving and
modernizing drug and supplies’ inventory control
mechanism, for quick deployment during
emergencies.
-
Hospital Services: Develop a
protocol-based procedure for mass casualty
management in the event of mass casualties and
accidents.
-
Human Resources: develop
professional capability of emergency-support
medical staff, and prepare a roster of staff for
prompt deployment during emergencies.
-
Public awareness: develop
flyers and newsletters and media material for
quick dissemination on: how to treat cases and
how to prevent outbreaks of diseases, how to
purify water, how to contain infectious
diseases, and dissemination of data on
particular diseases, etiology of diseases,
methods of case-management, correct drug
administration and doses, among others.
-
Monitoring and evaluation: support the
successful implementation of the National
Policy through establishing proper mechanisms
for regular monitoring and evaluation of
performance and impact, to enable health care
personnel to further improve strategies and
case-management.
-
The SOP: the SOP covers
aspects such as methods of emergency health
response. It intends to standardize emergency
health relief operations in line with best
humanitarian practice. The SOP has nine topics
for management of health related aspects of
disasters and calamities, including reproductive
health, logistics and movement, food and
nutrition, incident management, water and
sanitation during emergency, communicable
disease control procedures, temporary medical
camps and clinics, and temporary storage of
drugs and vaccines, among others.
|
|
World No Tobacco Day
Observed in Bangladesh
The “World No Tobacco Day” was observed all over
Bangladesh, as elsewhere in the world, on May 31,
2006. This year’s theme for the Day was “Tobacco:
deadly in any form or disguise”. The purpose of the
Day was to encourage countries and Governments to
work towards containment of all forms of tobacco
consumption by raising awareness about the existence
of a wide variety of deadly tobacco products in the
market, being sold as “health-friendly” and mild
varieties.
Several colourful rallies and awareness meetings
took place on the day; the main one had the
Bangladesh Minister for Health and Family Welfare as
the chief guest.
Other events included a round-table discussion, an
anti-tobacco musical concert, folk song rallies,
advocacy meetings, declaration of smoke-free places,
removal of tobacco advertisements, among others.
Similar events took place all over the country. The
media had special coverage of these events while
many TV channels and the radio put out special
programmes to mark the World No Tobacco Day 2006.
The theme of this year’s World No Tobacco Day
underlies the fact that the tobacco industry is
continuing unabated its vigorous sales thrust,
through the advent of a new line of tobacco
products, camouflaging consumers with the claim that
these products are safer and healthier options than
the common cigarettes. They are currently being
promoted under health-friendly names or flavours.
Some examples are the promotional campaigns for
certain new varieties of cigarettes, being
introduced to the market as ‘light’, ‘mild’ and ‘low
tar” varieties, among others. Recent research has
shown that all these new forms or “disguised
products” are equally harmful to human health.
Tobacco manufacturers, however, are disregarding
these well-documented research findings, and are
continuing to challenge and misrepresent the
scientific basis of this information.
Tobacco is the second-highest leading risk factor
for global deaths. Currently it causes 5 million
deaths worldwide. One in ten adults dies from health
conditions caused by tobacco consumption worldwide.
If current smoking patterns continue unabated then
it is possible that some 10 million deaths may occur
each year by the year 2020. Most of these deaths
occur in developing countries like Bangladesh. A
study carried by out by WHO in 2004-05 revealed that
tobacco is causing about 57 thousand deaths annually
among Bangladeshi people aged 30 years or above as a
result of active smoking. This figure would be much
higher when effects of passive smoking are taken
into account. A large proportion of those deaths
could be prevented or averted with effective sales
control of tobacco products of all types.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has supported
the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MOHFW) of
the Bangladesh Government in its effort to contain
smoking, both active and passive. WHO-commissioned
studies, carried out in many parts of the world,
including Bangladesh, have shown that smoking causes
tremendous damage to health and the burden of
disease from tobacco-induced illnesses is higher, in
economic terms, than the benefits derived from the
tobacco industry - in terms of employment
generation, tax revenue and export earnings. 
Bangladesh, as a member of the WHO, has actively
participated in WHO’s worldwide endeavour to enact
new laws to contain the sale and consumption of
tobacco products. On March 13, 2005, a new law was
enacted – “the Smoking and Tobacco Usage Control
Act, 2005” of Bangladesh which bans advertising of
tobacco products in newspapers and the electronic
media as well as in cinema halls throughout the
country. The new law bans smoking in public places
and on public transportation systems. Offenders are
punishable through a monetary penalty. The Ministry
of Health Family Welfare has already developed a
national plan of action for tobacco control with
assistance from WHO. Tobacco control - within the
purview of non-communicable disease control policy
and plan of action - has also been developed.
It is important that more research be carried out
and their findings be disseminated widely in order
to create awareness and furnish scientific knowledge
to the people, to concerned organisations and policy
makers about the ill-effects of these products,
their forms and disguises, and the effect of all
forms of tobacco, with the broad aim of preparing
and implementing more effective tobacco control
programmes in the country.
|
|
World Health Day
2007
World Health Day
marks the founding
of the World Health
Organization (WHO).
It is an occasion to
raise awareness of
key global health
issues. This year's
theme is
international health
security. The aim is
to urge governments,
organizations and
businesses to
"Invest in health,
build a safer
future".
Emerging and
epidemic-prone
diseases and
outbreaks, such as
SARS and avian flu,
as well as the
continuing spread of
HIV/AIDS,
humanitarian
emergencies, and
other acute health
threats can all be
defined as public
health emergencies.
International health
security is the
first line of
defence against
health shocks that
can |
|
|
|
Date:
7 April 2007
Place:
Celebrated worldwide
|
|
Theme: International
Health
Security |
|
Slogan:
Invest
in health,
build
a safer future |
|
devastate people,
societies and
economies worldwide.
Implementation of
the International
Health Regulations (IHR)
from June 2007 will
help to build and
strengthen
mechanisms for
outbreak alert and
response at national
and international
levels, and
contribute to making
the world more
secure.
More... |
|
|
|
|