Project profile — Strengthening Health Systems and Services in Bangladesh

• Bangladesh (100.00%)

• Health, General: Health policy and administrative management (12110) (5.00%)
• Basic health care:
Basic health care (12220) (15.00%)
Basic health infrastructure (12230) (5.00%)
Basic nutrition (12240) (10.00%)
Health education (12261) (12.00%)
Health personnel development (12281) (5.00%)
• Reproductive health care:
Reproductive health care (13020) (15.00%)
Family planning (13030) (13.00%)
Personnel development for population and reproductive health (13081) (15.00%)
• Government And Civil Society, General: Ending violence against women and girls (15180) (5.00%)

• Gender equality (significant objective)
• Environmental sustainability (cross-cutting) (significant objective)
• Participatory development and good governance (not targeted)
• 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 (principal objective)
• Youth Issues (principal objective)
• Disaster Risk Reduction(DRR) (not targeted)
• Disability (significant objective)
• Indigenous Issues (significant objective)
• Nutrition (significant objective)
• ICT as a tool for development (not targeted)

This project contributes to reducing maternal and child mortality rates and promoting gender equality through the provision of sexual and reproductive health and rights services. It particularly benefits over 14 million women, adolescents and children in two regions, Sylhet and Chittagong, including Cox’s Bazar district, where unmet needs are most significant. It also supports fiduciary oversight and accountability of the government’s health program, and strengthens financial and procurement management and efficiency of delivery systems. Project activities include: (1) providing maternal health care services, post-partum family planning and emergency obstetric care; (2) provide immunization for children and nutrition for infants and mothers; (3) provide services relateed to school based adolescent health and nutrition, family planning and sexual and reproductive health; and (4) budget planning, asset and procurement management.

The expected outcomes for this project include: (1) strengthened Ministry of Health and Family Welfare systems that contribute to improving health service delivery; (2) inclusive, efficient and equitable gender-responsive essential health, sexual and reproductive health and nutrition services that meet the needs of girls and boys, women and men; and (3) strengthened and more transparent financial management and audit systems that reduce the financial and fiduciary risks in the health sector program.

Results achieved as of June 2023 include: (1) strengthened the government’s access to data by supporting 8,200 of Community Clinics ( 98%) to provide complete gender-disaggregated data to District Health Information Software 2 (DHIS2), surpassing the project target of 8000; (2) posted 2 accredited midwives at each of the 382 sub-district health complexes, surpassing the target of 350; (3) public health facilities in the Chattogram, Barisal, and Sylhet divisions reported 111,150 normal deliveries, surpassing the annual target of 80,000; (4) 15 district hospitals in the Sylhet and Chattogram divisions reported providing comprehensive obstetric and newborn care; (5) formed an internal audit team at the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and recruited 50% of the required staff; and (6) implemented a functional asset management system at 61 hospitals.

• Proactive disclosure