Plan Bangladesh Annual Progress Report 2009

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A YEAR IN

BANGLADESH SUMMARY REPORT

09

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GOOD REASONS why Plan works in Bangladesh

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• Almost half the population lives in absolute poverty

An early childhood care centre

• Each year, more than 250,000 children die before they reach the age of five • More than a quarter of the population has no access to clean, safe water

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• Improving health services for mothers, children and young people

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• Increasing opportunities for poor families to improve their incomes

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• Promoting children’s rights, and getting women and children involved in decisions affecting their lives

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BANGLADESH

• Ensuring children have access to a quality education from nursery level onwards

INDIA

Chirirbandar Mymensingh

Our priorities in Bangladesh

Cox’s Bazar MYANMAR

Country Office Programme Unit

BANGLADESH

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B a y o f B eand n gsupplies a rainfall. l most of the country’s

Capital: Dhaka

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BANGLADESH FACTS Population: 156 million

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Economy: Despite continuous domestic and international efforts to improve economic and Bara demographic prospects, Climate: Bangladeshi climate remains a Sunsari is tropical with a mild winterRautahatBangladesh developing nation. Its per from October to March, a capita income in 2006 was hot, humid summer from US$1400 compared to the March to June. A warm and world average of $10,200. humid monsoon season lasts from June to October Language: Bangla.

English is quiteMakwanpur widely spoken.

Mother and daughter attend a Community Learning Program

“Women often do not have the resources or the knowledge to ensure they have healthy pregnancies and safe deliveries.”

A YEAR IN

BANGLADESH SUMMARY REPORT

09

FOCUS ON: IMPROVING FAMILY HEALTH Plan works with partners and communities to protect the health of pregnant women and ensure they have antenatal care and safe deliveries.

We promote child health initiatives like immunisation campaigns, growth monitoring and nutrition projects.

We support families’ access to latrines and decent sanitation, and education on hygiene and sanitation in schools and homes.

HEALTHY KIDS IN KHANSHAMA

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he fruit trees and vegetables Shilpi grows on the land beside her house are her pride and joy.

She knows they will feed her family well. So too will the chickens she has started rearing.

Looking after new toilets in a village

The Bigger Picture

Plan is working with children, families and whole communities to address the problems that Bangladesh faces. This report can only tell a small part of that story. As a further insight, last year we also: • Helped to protect children from disease by promoting the importance of hygiene and sanitation in 487 primary schools • Raised the standard of education for children by supporting professional training for 1,962 teachers • Improved the incomes of 6,724 farmers by supporting training on vegetable growing and horticulture • Established nine drop-in centres and night shelters to offer support, education and other services for homeless children.

Your support as a sponsor is crucial to achieving these positive results. So on behalf of the communities, partner organisations, and most of all the children we work with – thank you!

Like many mothers, Shilpi understands how important it is to give children a varied and nutritious diet to keep them healthy. She also knows the well and latrine she’s installed at home will help to protect them from disease.

But this knowledge and pride masks a personal sadness. A few years ago, she went through every expectant mother’s worst nightmare when her first child was stillborn. She recalls her devastation vividly, saying: “I know the pain of a mother after losing her child.”

Antenatal care Sadly, experiences like Shilpi’s are not uncommon in Khanshama, the area in northern Bangladesh where she lives. Here, as in many of the poorest parts of the country, women often do not have the resources or the knowledge to ensure they have healthy pregnancies and safe deliveries.

When Shilpi first became pregnant she was young and newly married. Many families in Bangladesh are suspicious of modern maternity care, and her husband and in-laws wouldn’t allow her to attend antenatal appointments. As a result she had little idea of what to eat, or how to take care of herself to give her developing baby the best start in life.

Nor was she prepared for what to do during the birth.

It’s impossible to say whether Shilpi’s baby might have survived had she been given the care and advice she needed. But Shilpi was determined she would not lose a second child when she fell pregnant again.

So, when Lutheran Aid Medicine Bangladesh (LAMB), a local partner organisation working with Plan began operating in the area, and health

To learn more about Plan’s work in Bangladesh visit plan.org.au/ourwork/asia/bangladesh

Produced for Bangladesh by the Australian National Office.

“Mothers now look to her for advice about protecting their children from diseases like diarrhoea, a killer in the poorest communities.”

workers visited pregnant mothers to encourage them to come to their mobile clinic for antenatal check-ups, Shilpi was keen to listen.

With support from Plan, LAMB offers women a range of services during pregnancy, from help with nutrition to care during childbirth. They also teach mothers how best to look after their babies, and advise them on important topics like feeding and immunisation.

Shilpi attended every antenatal appointment and went to the LAMB hospital to give birth. This time the outcome was a healthy baby.

Support for mothers Shilpi decided to help other mothers take care of their health during pregnancy so that babies would not die needlessly.

“I want to do something so that no mother in my village would experience such trauma,” she said.

With support from her local community, LAMB and Plan, Shilpi trained as a health volunteer.

Working with Plan and health organisations in the area, Shilpi encourages mothers in the village to look after themselves and their children.

She advises pregnant women to go to the local Safe Delivery Unit to have their babies and shows them how to prepare nutritious food for their family. Mothers now look to her for advice about protecting their children from diseases like diarrhoea, a killer in the poorest communities.

Shilpi has seen positive changes in her community, saying: “The villagers follow me to improve the health situation in their households.”

There’s hope that her wish for safer pregnancies and healthy babies is beginning to come true.

Some names have been changed for child protection and privacy purposes.

plan.org.au