Project profile — Health, Nutrition and Population Sector Programme - Policy Dialogue

• Bangladesh (100.00%)

• Health, General: Health policy and administrative management (12110) (60.00%)
• Government And Civil Society, General: Public sector policy and administrative management (15110) (40.00%)

• Gender equality (significant objective)
• Environmental sustainability (cross-cutting) (not targeted)
• Participatory development and good governance (significant objective)
• Trade development (not targeted)
• Biodiversity (not targeted)
• Climate change mitigation (not targeted)
• Climate Change Adaptation (not targeted)
• Urban issues (not targeted)
• Desertification (not targeted)
• Children's issues (not targeted)
• Youth Issues (not targeted)
• Indigenous Issues (not targeted)
• Disability (not targeted)
• ICT as a tool for development (not targeted)

This project, which ended in June 2011, was part of the Government of Bangladesh’s $4.3- billion Health, Nutrition, and Population Sector Program (HNPSP), a multi-donor, sector-wide approach (SWAp) that consisted of a pooled fund and parallel projects. CIDA contributed $5 million to the HNPSP pooled fund managed by the World Bank. The HNPSP pooled fund, supported by six donors, ensured the delivery of core health services. Donors who contributed to the pooled fund partnered with the Government of Bangladesh; together they made decisions concerning the design and implementation of the health SWAp. This project is a central element of the Canadian contribution to the HNPSP. As with all sector support/pooled fund initiatives, Canada is working in close cooperation with other donors and the Government of Bangladesh to focus on effective, transparent, and accountable country systems; increase donor coordination and harmonization; and strengthen mutual accountability. This assistance also fosters greater policy dialogue among donors, government, and partners, thus helping to strengthen efforts for effective, focussed aid, as well as long-term development results. This initiative is continuously monitored and evaluated in coordination with other donors.

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Results at the end of the project included: Interventions in areas of family planning, immunization and vitamin A supplementation were successful, and maternal-child health services were expanded. 257 government facilities are now providing emergency obstetric care services. 1,137 people were trained as community skilled birth attendants (CSBA) adding to a total of 5,578 trained CSBAs able to work in 339 subdistricts. 1,445 nurses were recruited from July 2009 to June 2010. Integrated Management of Childhood Illnesses (IMCI) was expanded. A total of 343 sub-districts in 48 districts, including 40 district hospitals, are now providing IMCI services. There has been a marked improvement in maternal mortality reduction from 322 in 2001 to 194 in 2010, a 40% decline in 9 years; and births by skilled birth attendants have doubled from 12.2% to 26.5% during the same period. This is an improvement but still leaves some 2.4 million births at home with mostly unskilled birth attendants. 82% of children are immunized, and the family planning program shows that fertility has declined to 2.7. In September 2010, Bangladesh received a UN award for its achievement in reducing under-five child mortality and is therefore on track to meet its UN Millennium Development Goal to achieve MDG 4 of reducing under-five mortality by two-thirds by 2015.

• Proactive disclosure
• Related activities:
• Bangladesh Health Commodities
• Monitoring Health Projects in Bangladesh