The Government of Bangladesh's Second Urban Primary Health Care Project (UPHCP-II), supported by ADB, DFID, Sida and UNFPA, provides increased access to primary health care services with a focus on women and children in urban areas.
Transcript
Title: Providing Primary Health Care Services in Urban Bangladesh
Description: The Government of Bangladesh's Second Urban Primary Health Care Project (UPHCP-II), supported by ADB, DFID, Sida and UNFPA, provides increased access to primary health care services with a focus on women and children in urban areas.
VO: Waiting stoically for their turn. This clinic, in a poor suburb of Dhaka, sees up to 80 patients every day. Without the services provided here, most of these women would go through pregnancy and give birth at home without professional help - a risky practice with potentially tragic consequences.
SOT: Farhana Rahman
Obstetrician
In the past if a mother delivered 5 babies, three of them would die or be mentally challenged. This rate has reduced now, and we see fewer gynecological problems. They are becoming health-conscious and are coming to receive family planning services.
VO: In the past if a mother delivered 5 babies, three of them would die or be mentally challenged. This rate has reduced now, and we see fewer gynecological problems. They are becoming health-conscious and are coming to receive family planning services.
The clinic is part of the government led Second Urban Primary Health Care Project, financed by the Asian Development Bank, with support from the Swedish and British development agencies and the United Nations Population Fund.
The aim is to improve the health and well-being of under privileged women living in Bangladesh’s towns and cities.
People like Rina Akhtar. She is pregnant with her second child. She lost her first baby soon after giving birth at home. But this time, help is at hand.
SOT: Rina Akhtar
Patient
[How did you hear about this center?] I heard there was a hospital here and that we would benefit if we came here. [That is why you came here?] Yes. [How many times did you come here?] This is the first time.
VO: The project deliberately targets the poorest in society. Those who cannot afford to pay get their treatment for free. Others are charged a subsidised rate.
And it’s not just obstetrics and gynaecology on offer here. There is also information about nutrition, breastfeeding, contraception, sexually transmitted diseases, and HIV/AIDS.
Allowing women a degree of control over their lives that was previously beyond their reach. The Second Urban Primary Health Care Project is working to build a pool of knowledge within communities and offer preventive care alongside treatment.
SOT: Israt Jahan Munni
Patient
I benefited a lot. At delivery time, it was impossible to travel very far. Because of the existence of this clinic in this area, many mothers like me have benefited greatly.
VO: The hope is that the project sets an example of best practice that can be replicated across Bangladesh’s rapidly growing urban populations.
The benefits are clear: healthier women are able to be more productive. Healthy children perform better at school, securing a better future for themselves and society as a whole.
Investing in the health and wellbeing of women is paying dividends - a success that is evident on the faces of new mothers across Bangladesh.
