Achieving sustainability towards healthcare access in Bangladesh

Novartis and Swisscontact initiated the ASTHA project in 2015. ASTHA (meaning "reliance" or "trust" in Bengali) offers health education on disease prevention and treatment, and increases access to quality healthcare by training and working with Community Paramedics (CPs) in three disaster-prone areas of Bangladesh — says a press release.

The four-year project (2015-2018) takes a holistic approach to expanding access to healthcare by involving government agencies (i.e. BNC, DGFP and DGHS), building capacity within institutions to train CPs and informing people about the options regarding quality healthcare services.

The project focuses on the following activities:

-Referral system: CPs refer patients to qualified doctors to ensure treatment quality

-Continuous education: roundtable discussions and scientific seminars are held on latest developments in therapeutic areas

-Health camps: CPs and referral doctors provide primary healthcare services free of charge to underserved communities in health camps

Over the past year, ASTHA has been active in the following three districts — Nilphamari, Patuakhali and Sunamganj.

Overall, 29 scientific seminars on various health topics and 16 healthcamps — where graduate doctors provided free treatment to poor people in rural areas with the assistance of CPs — were organised. A further 66 information sessions were held, thereby improving access to quality healthcare in rural Bangladesh.