By Abdullah Muhammad Rafi On December of 2022, the Government of Bangladesh declared its next major initiative – the Smart Bangladesh Initiative – with a view to building a Smart Nation by 2041. Government’s Aspire to Innovate (a2i) program defines a ‘smart nation’ as “harnessing emerging technologies, networks, and data to create tech-enabled solutions
CHORUS is a Research Programme Consortium that brings together health researchers from South Asia, West Africa, and the UK. CHORUS works with communities, health professionals and city level decision makers to strengthen the urban health system, especially for the urban poor. ARK Foundation is currently implementing three projects under CHORUS. Project 1 aims to strengthen
The IMPRESS was a pilot trial of a multi-component intervention which aimed to culturally adapt, and then evaluate, the effectiveness of evidence-based strategies to reduce second-hand smoking within homes in the peri-urban area of Bangladesh. It also aimed to determine the costs versus benefits of implementing such an intervention. The study was carried out in
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a growing threat to global health, food sustainability, and socio-economic development. It is estimated that AMR infections cause approximately 700,000 human deaths each year globally and this figure is set to rise to 10 million by 2050 if no action is taken. Multi-sectoral action that addresses human and animal health, agriculture,
People with severe mental illness (SMI; i.e. schizophrenia, bipolar affective disorder and severe depression with psychosis) die on average 10-20 years earlier than the general population. Around 80% of deaths in people with SMI are due to preventable physical illnesses, most commonly cardio-metabolic diseases, respiratory disorders, and infectious diseases. Comorbidity of physical and mental illness
Children Learning About Second-hand Smoke (CLASS-III) is an ongoing multinational cRCT project of ARK Foundation in collaboration with the University of York, United Kingdom. The project aims to assess the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of school-based Smoke-Free Intervention (SFI) in reducing children’s exposure to second-hand smoking (SHS) and the frequency and severity of respiratory symptoms. The
This study aimed to develop an acceptable and feasible psycho-social support (PSS) package that will be ready to embed within the existing National TB Control Programme (NTP) service delivery system in Bangladesh. Our specific objectives were to assess the existing MDR-TB services, exploring the facilitators and barriers in the current service provision for mental health