Category: Bangladesh

Blog: Working with Community Advisory Groups in Research: Lessons Learned from Bangladesh and Ghana

By Francis Poitier (University of Leeds), Lauren Wallace, Adanna Nwameme and Delali Kumapley (University of Ghana), Deepa Barua and Rumana Huque (ARK Foundation) Urban October calls global attention to urban issues and the opportunities available for sustainable development. This year’s theme focuses on engaging youth to create a better urban future. Community engagement, including with…


Blog: ARK’s SIMPLE Solution to the Urban Data Dearth

By Abdullah Muhammad Rafi, ARK Foundation ARK’s SIMPLE Solution to the Urban Data Dearth On December of 2022, the Government of Bangladesh declared its next major initiative – the Smart Bangladesh Initiative – with a view to building a Smart Nation by 2041. Government’s Aspire to Innovate (a2i) program defines a ‘smart nation’ as “harnessing…


Blog: Urban Dispensaries and Primary Healthcare in Dhaka

By Umme Salma Anee, Masroor Salauddin, Sadika Afrin, Faiaz Chowdhury, Nabila Binte jahan, Deepa Barua and Rumana Huque, ARK Foundation, Bangladesh, and Helen Elsey, University of York Urban regions in Bangladesh are now more densely populated as a result of migration and industrialization. With a population rise of 3.26% from 2022 to 2023, Dhaka, the…


Webinar: Efficiency analysis of health care facilities

Health system efficiency is a significant concern for all, including policy makers and healthcare providers, and increasing efficiency is a decision makers’ criteria for priority setting. In this CHORUS webinar, Prof. Zahidul Quayyum from BRAC University (JPGSPH) and Md. Zahid Hasan, CHORUS PhD student at the University of Leeds, present and discuss how to measure…


Policy Brief: Key Recommendations for Effective Modalities for Urban Primary Health Care Systems in Bangladesh

The urban health system in Bangladesh is facing numerous challenges in terms of availability of healthcare services reaching the urban populations, particularly the most marginalised, including low service coverage,  poor quality of services and a lack of quality monitoring. CHORUS in Bangladesh aims to explore the current use of strategic purchasing within the primary health…


CHORUS External Newsletter – February 2023

Welcome to the first external newsletter for CHORUS, providing an update on the CHORUS research projects well underway in Nepal, Bangladesh, Nigeria and Nepal. Don’t forget to subscribe to receive future newsletters on CHORUS research findings, interventions and key urban health issues, using the link on the homepage.


ICUH22 Panel Session: “How are changing gender and social norms influencing health seeking behaviour and health systems in cities?”

CHORUS held a panel session at the International Conference on Urban Health presenting analysis on how gender intersects with other social stratifies to influence health seeking behaviour in poor urban neighbourhoods. The session used findings from the qualitative and quantitative research to explore cross-country similarities and differences between the CHORUS cities in West Africa and…


Blog: The Transgender Community and Disparities of the Urban Health Care System. Untold Stories

By Umme Salma Anee, Nondita Hassan, Fariha Islam Munia, Maisha Ahsan Momo, Tahmid Hasan, Deepa Barua and Rumana Huque. ARK Foundation, Bangladesh A transgender woman, named Sumaiya (pseudonym), became sick while collecting money for a prolonged time under the scorching heat of summer. She went to buy medicine from a road side drug store. While…


Blog: Safeguarding and Urban Health Researchers in Bangladesh

By Samina Huque, Project Manager and Safeguarding Focal Point, ARK Foundation, Bangladesh Safeguarding policies and practices in the global health research sector are inspired and influenced by different sources and entities. In most countries, organizations form their safeguarding policies as per the law of the respective country and relevant laws of the host/donor countries they…


Blog: Men’s Health in Urban Bangladesh – Is the Urban Primary Healthcare System Leaving Men behind?

Maisha Ahsan Momo, Research Assistant, ARK Foundation, Bangladesh Image credits  – ARK Foundation, Bangladesh   Abdur Rahim (pseudonym, aged 65+) lazily passes his days at his shabby little home in Duwaripara slum. Being a retired day-laborer, he is now financially dependent on his wife’s and daughter’s income, both of whom work as part-time maids for…