How Active are the Residents of Dhaka? Perceptions and Challenges in Maintaining Physical Activity in Urban Bangladesh

By Umme Salma Anee, CHORUS Research Assistant, ARK Foundation To implement a CHORUS Innovation Fund project in Bangladesh, the team at ARK Foundation has been working with a diverse range of stakeholders, including policy makers, community leaders, teachers, Imams, youth groups, adolescents, guardians, pregnant women, elderly women, and people with physical challenges, to address barriers
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Roundtable on ‘Health Budget FY2025-26: Expectations and Realities’

PDF Version The health sector is facing major budgetary challenges due to flawed preparation processes that fail to identify priorities, leading to insufficient fund allocation and poor utilization, experts said. They also said there is a lack of managerial efficiency, as well, in implementing health budget. these insights were shared at a roundtable discussion titled
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Low budget or management flaws? Experts flag inefficiency in health spending

PDF Version Highlights: Flawed preparation blamed for failing to identify priorities Despite potential, primary healthcare underfunded Managerial inefficiency hampers fund utilisation NCDs underprioritised despite rising deaths Women, child health budget cut again Need skilled managers, better planning Private sector unregulated, inequitable care Budget usually slashed significantly in revisions The health sector is facing major budgetary
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Trapped by Tobacco: The Industry’s Grip and Our Responsibility

Fahmida Farzana PDF Version Tobacco kills more than 8 million people each year. To make up these “lost consumers”, the industry goes after the youth as their next target. Today’s young people are the next generation of “lifelong customers”, and most tobacco users start smoking before they become adults. Over time, tobacco companies’ tactics to
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Between Progress and Pitfalls: Fixing Bangladesh’s Urban Health Crisis

 By Abdullah M. Rafi (published in The Business Standard on 15 May, 2025) Bangladesh, one of the fastest-growing economies in the world according to the World Bank, has identified health as both a priority and a persistent challenge. Article 15(a) of the country’s constitution reflects this commitment by guaranteeing healthcare as a fundamental right for
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দেশের ৪২.৭ শতাংশ জনগোষ্ঠী পরোক্ষ ধুমাপানের শিকার

Originally published in The Daily Kaler Kantho on February 07, 2025. Read the full report here.
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Experts urge policy reforms to strengthen urban health systems in Bangladesh

  Health policymakers, researchers, and development partners gathered in Dhaka to discuss challenges and prospects for urban health in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). The policy dialogue, titled Strengthening Urban Health Systems: Prospects & Challenges, was organized by ARK Foundation Bangladesh and BRAC James P. Grant School of Public Health on Thursday (30 January 2025).
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Policy Dialogue on Strengthening Urban Health Systems: Prospects & Challenges

  The Community-led Responsive and Effective Urban Health System (CHORUS) is a Research Programme Consortium that brings together health researchers from Africa, South Asia, and the UK. CHORUS collaborates with communities, health professionals, and city-level decision makers to develop and test strategies for improving the health of the poorest urban residents. As part of its
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ARK Hosts CHORUS Partners Meeting in Dhaka

The CHORUS Partners Meeting, hosted by ARK, took place from January 26th to 29th at Hotel Lake Castle in Dhaka, bringing together researchers, policymakers, and experts from Bangladesh, Nepal, Ghana, Nigeria, and the UK. The event focused on sharing insights and strategies for strengthening urban health systems across the participating countries. Discussions explored early findings,
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Fighting TB on the Frontlines: Voices from the Ground

Mr. Mahmud (pseudonym), 59, the Tuberculosis & Leprosy Controller Assistant (TLCA) at one of the TB centers on the outskirts – a 70-kilometer drive from the capital Dhaka – reflecting on his journey in combating TB, asserted that if people stopped using tobacco products, the number of TB cases in his area could have been
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