Primary Care Reaches Troubled Areas
International staff: 11
National staff: 163
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In a country with some of the poorest, most densely packed and environmentally challenged citizens on the planet, MSF is working with those who are most marginalized by political and social pressures.
The most recent project, started at the end of 1999, is in the troubled Chittagong Hill Tracts, an isolated and conflict-ridden area where Bengali inhabitants and the original tribal population do not have access to government health care services. MSF is providing primary health care to a target group of around 50,000 people. The services, run through two local clinics, include basic diagnosis and treatment with laboratory testing, mother and child health care and family planning, immunization, health education, and the provision of clean water through well-drilling programs.
A longer-term project in Cox's Bazaar addresses the needs of refugees from Myanmar, whose status remains unresolved. Since 1992, MSF has been providing medical aid and sanitation services and helping to ensure that the rights of the refugees are respected. The project now concentrates on the health of mothers and children under ten.
Because of Bangladesh's history of floods and cyclones, MSF remains prepared to respond to natural disasters if requested.
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