Men’s Health in Urban Bangladesh: Is the Urban Primary Healthcare System Leaving Men Behind?

Abdur Rahim (67) lazily passes his days at his shabby little home in Duwaripara slum. Being a retired day-laborer, he is now financially dependent on his wife’s and daughter’s income, both of whom work as part-time maids for several families in Pallabi, Dhaka. Rahim, sitting at a teastall with a bunch of his contemporaries, expresses
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CHORUS Blog: Important Yet Ignored: Non-Communicable Diseases in Urban Bangladesh

By Tahmid Hasan In Bangladesh, NCDs are estimated to account for 67% of all deaths. In low and middle-income countries, urbanization has been identified as one of the crucial underlying reasons for the increasing trends of NCDs. Bangladesh has also been experiencing rapid urbanization for the past two decades. The urban population of Bangladesh has increased
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Tackling the Overlooked Pandemic of Antimicrobial Resistance: Community Solutions To Antimicrobial Resistance (COSTAR)

By Badruddin Saify, Research Assistant, ARK Foundation   Antibiotic resistance (ABR) arises when bacteria develop resistance to antibiotics. In other words, antibiotics are ineffective against them. It is a common myth that people or animals develop resistance to antibiotics, whereas, in reality, it is germs that become resistant antibiotics.   Vector illustration of superbugs. No
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10 percent increase in the price of cigarettes would reduce overall cigarette smoking among people by 7.1 percent

Cigarette price increases are more effective in reducing cigarette demand among poorer people.  A recently conducted research study finds that the demand for cigarettes responds less than proportionately to changes in cigarette price. Moreover, the study finds that an increase in cigarette price by 10 percent results in a 9 percent decrease of cigarette demand
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Stakeholder Engagement Meeting-Tobacco Control Capacity Programme (TCCP)

Bangladesh has one of the largest populations of tobacco users in the world, with 37.8 million adults consuming tobacco products. Although the overall prevalence of tobacco use among adults declined from 43.3 percent to 35.3 percent between 2009 and 2017, the rate of cigarette smoking remains alarmingly high, with no change observed during that period.
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Strengthening primary healthcare to achieve universal health coverage

By Rumana Huque The World Health Organisation (WHO) strongly promotes the primary care principles enshrined in the 1978 Alma Ata declaration which emphasises equity, inter-sectoral collaboration, access to essential drugs, appropriate health technology, and comprehensive care. A Primary Health Care (PHC) approach from a services delivery perspective can be characterised as primary care: the continuum
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CLASS III awareness-raising animation video on Second-Hand Smoke (SHS) exposure

We are excited to launch the awareness video on the harmful impact of secondhand smoke (SHS) exposure intended to educate and sensitize tobacco users, policymakers, and local law regulators in Bangladesh, as part of the CLASS III (Children’s Learning About Second-hand Smoke) cluster randomized controlled trial (cRCT). This trial aims to prevent respiratory and other smoking-related illnesses in
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Illicit tobacco trade : Underreporting in Bangladesh perspective

Effectiveness of tobacco control initiatives is subject to the status of trade regulations of a region. As a direct effect of trade liberalisation by many countries, the world has experienced stimulation in trade volume of tobacco and tobacco products in recent years. Reduction in trade barriers might increase possibility of tobacco marketing and reduce their
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TB & Tobacco project findings shared in the 50th Union World Conference on Lung Health

Representatives from ARK Foundation and its partners from UK and Nepal joined the 50th Union World Conference on Lung Health held in Hyderabad, India from 30th October to 2nd November 2019. A 3 hours session was dedicated to “The importance of smoking cessation in Tuberculosis (TB) patients. Evidence from observational studies, randomised controlled-trials, process evaluation
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It is High Time to Introduce Tobacco cessation within the TB Control Programme

In Bangladesh, every year, more than 350,000 people are affected by Tuberculosis (TB), and more than 70,000 people die due to the same. 20% of the deaths are attributed to tobacco. These toll of death can easily be avoided by collecting information and counselling on tobacco use among TB patients by the TB care providers.
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