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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.
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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...
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...
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...
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WHO-Bangladesh
launches the new
Biennial
Collaborative
Programme
The WHO – Bangladesh
Country Office had
an official
launching of their
new two-year
biennial programme
of technical
assistance to the
Government of
Bangladesh. It took
place at the
Conference Hall of
the Ministry of
Health and Family
Welfare on January
31, 2008, and was
attended by 80
participants. The
official launching
event was chaired by
Mr AKM Zafarullah
Khan, Secretary,
Ministry of Health
and Family Welfare.
The WHO
representative to
Bangladesh, Dr
Duangvadee
Sungkhobol, the
Director General of
Family Planning, and
the Director-General
of Health
Services-Bangladesh,
were also present.
All the new
Programme Directors
and the Programme
Managers of the new
WHO biennial
programme were
present as well.
More...
New Strategic Plan
for NCD Published
 Bangladesh
is now going through
a phase of
epidemiological
transition from
communicable
diseases to non-commmunicable
diseases (NCDs). The
burden of disease is
high for NCDs,
while the duration
of hospitalization
or care is usually
quite long for most
NCDs, and thus, it
is costly per
episode to treat
NCDs. The common
problems in
Bangladesh are:
heart diseases,
respiratory
distress, stroke and
paralysis, elevated
blood pressure,
diabetes, drowning,
and cancers.
The office of the
Director-General of
Health Services (DGHS),
with technical
support from the
WHO-Bangladesh
Country Office, have
just published a
“Strategic Plan for
Surveillance and
Prevention of
Non-communicable
Diseases in
Bangladesh,
2007-2010.” This is
the first-ever
effort to develop a
focused strategic
plan to prevent and
contain these
diseases. NCDs are a
major public health
concern.
This document is
timely and points to
the urgent need for
cost-effective
treatment regimens,
and strong advocacy
for prevention. This
document calls for
stronger
surveillance, better
prevention
mechanisms, and
skilled health
personnel at all
tiers for quick
diagnosis and
treatment. This Plan
of Action lays
emphasis on
achieving a set of
objectives that
makes room for
robust
indicator-based
evaluation systems.
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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...
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