Project profile — Improving Maternal, Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights in Bangladesh

• Bangladesh (100.00%)

• Basic health care:
Basic health care (12220) (15.00%)
Basic nutrition (12240) (10.00%)
Health education (12261) (16.21%)
• Reproductive health care:
Reproductive health care (13020) (18.79%)
Family planning (13030) (20.00%)
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) (not targeted)
• 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 (significant objective)
• Youth Issues (significant objective)
• Indigenous Issues (not targeted)
• Disability (not targeted)
• ICT as a tool for development (not targeted)

This joint initiative, UNICEF-UNFPA, aims to reduce deaths of girls, women and infants by promoting and improving sexual and reproductive health services and rights and access to related information services. It particularly focuses on increasing effective coverage of key sexual and reproductive health services and rights including maternal newborn child health services in low performing districts. It addresses gaps and weakness of local government service delivery capacity, geography and culture to reduce preventable deaths amongst women and infants. The overall goal of the initiative is to contribute and accelerate the existing efforts of the government of Bangladesh in promoting sexual and reproductive health and rights of the population, especially among women and adolescents, including efforts to improve maternal, new-born, child and adolescent health.

The expected outcomes for this project include: (1) improved utilization of quality, gender responsive sexual and reproductive health-related information and services that equitably meet the needs of girls and boys and women and men; (2) improved utilization of quality, gender-responsive essential newborn and infant health services for baby girls and boys; )3) enhanced Government of Bangladesh’s policy commitment and ability to main- stream innovations nationally through gender-responsive public sexual and reproductive health service delivery systems. The project’s ultimate outcome is improving sexual and reproductive health and rights and reducing maternal and newborn morbidity and mortality in selected districts of Bangladesh.

Results achieved at the end of the project (June 2022) include: (1) reduced maternal mortality ratio from 196 to 123 per 100,000 births. The newborn mortality rate decreased from 28 to 20 per 1,000 live births, the infant mortality rate decreased from 38 to 25 per 1,000 live births, and the adolescent fertility rate (the number of births per 1,000 women aged 15 to19) decreased from 113 to 92 in 5 low performing districts of Bangladesh; (2) 792,474 live births attended by skilled personnel from 2017 to 2022, 504,621 women received ANC (check-up before childbirth), and 548,937 women participated in PNC (check-up after childbirth) within 24 hours of giving birth in public health facilities. A total of 122,721 pregnant women treated for obstetric emergencies, 166,508 women and girls received services from midwives after experiencing gender-based violence, 777,836 women and 70,636 adolescents (multiple counts) received SRHR services during the program period; (3) registered 313,510 pregnant women and 266,410 newborns for maternal and newborn care services by community health volunteers in the program period. Counselled 1,155,000 women on birth preparedness. This includes ANC, PNC, maternal and newborn nutrition, safe delivery and essential newborn care; (4) 212,046 (96 %) new-born in health facilities received chlorhexidine, 129,427 (51 %) new-born in health facilities received delayed bathing, 189,576 (85 %) new-born in health facilities received skin to skin care, 189,731 (78 %) initiated breastfeeding within 1 hour, and 148,689 (62 %) of new-born received postpartum care by trained health provider within 2 days of birth in the health facilities; (5) reached more than 500 high-level policymakers, MNH and SRHR experts through face to face and virtual round table and policy dialogue, and other events. This includes World Pneumonia Day, Safe Motherhood Day, Midwifery Day, and Prematurity Day; (6) trained 1,982 midwives in SRHR services; and (7) 98% of Union and Family Welfare Centers (FWCs) provided Menstrual Regulation (MR) services.

• Proactive disclosure