Bangladesh

  • Pre-pandemic, 20.5% of Bangladesh’s population lived below the poverty line
  • Now, an estimated 30% of people live below the poverty line
  • Out-of-pocket health expenditure are pushing more people into poverty
  • 10% of the population lives with a disability
  • 1 in 2 people do not have a decent toilet of their own
  • More than 2 million people in Bangladesh lack access to a clean water source

In Bangladesh, Effect Hope works with partners in regions where neglected tropical diseases like leprosy continue to prevent people and communities from thriving. These areas experience a high rate of poverty, contaminated water and limited access to suitable toilets. In these areas, appropriate health care is often not accessible. Because of this, it is common to see delays in diagnoses and disabilities arising from infections. Disease and disability make the hurdles created by poverty higher and more challenging to overcome.

In northwestern Bangladesh, people with disabilities due to neglected tropical diseases like leprosy and lymphatic filariasis receive support through micro-grants to start a small business or through skills training. This allows people affected by leprosy or lymphatic filariasis and their families to raise their income and have a better quality of life.

Research is an important step towards ending diseases like leprosy. We work closely with Leprosy Field Research Bangladesh to conduct clinical research to better understand the disease, its transmission and treatment and needed health services for people affected by leprosy.

Programs in Bangladesh

Proyash – Accelerating Leprosy Services

Along with our two partners in Bangladesh, we’re working to strengthen the public health system to provide better care and services for people affected by leprosy. We support the Government of Bangladesh’s vision of a “Leprosy-Free Bangladesh: a Bangladesh with zero transmission, zero disability and zero social consequences due to leprosy.”  This project supports the public health system in improving leprosy health outcomes by catching and treating cases early, which in turn will mean that fewer children and adults will face a significant disability because of the disease. This project also works to improve health by increasing access and availability of leprosy services in the area and reducing the stigma surrounding leprosy.

Leprosy Field Research Bangladesh 

When you support the Leprosy Field Research Bangladesh Project, you are supporting important research that improves the lives of people affected by leprosy in Bangladesh and around the world. 

Research generated from this program has substantially enriched the scientific knowledge of leprosy. Several outcomes of this research have been used by World Health Organization and others to understand how to reduce transmission and to better manage leprosy cases. It is programs like this that will one day help to end leprosy for good.

 

Northwest Bangladesh Ultra Poverty Initiative Project (NUPIP)

This project supports people and families affected by leprosy and lymphatic filariasis in northwestern Bangladesh who are living in ultra-poverty – earning less than $15 Canadian per month. Leprosy and lymphatic filariasis are endemic in this area, where rates of poverty are also high. By supporting this project, you ensure that affected people will move out of ultra poverty and have a dignified and sustainable income. We offer skills training and financial support to launch a small business, or to learn a new trade. This project ensures that people affected by leprosy or lymphatic filariasis are able to manage their disabilities, support their children’s education,  afford daily expenses, and access local resources and support. 

Photos From the Field