Children Learning About Second-hand Smoking (CLASS-III)

  Second-hand smoke (SHS) exposure costs 800,000 lives a year. Children in developing countries are worst affected as smoke-free laws are only partially implemented, and private homes and cars remain a key source of SHS exposure. Children Learning About Second-hand Smoking (CLASS-III) is an ongoing project of ARK Foundation in collaboration with University of York.
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Children Learning About Second-hand Smoke (CLASS-II)

  Children Learning About Second-hand Smoke (CLASS-II) was a two-arm pilot cluster randomised controlled trial funded by the Medical Research Council, UK. The project primarily aimed to establish the effectiveness of a school-based intervention, ‘Smoke Free Homes’ , in reducing exposure of school children to second hand smoke. Its effect on frequency and severity of
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Assessing the effectiveness of using Public-Private Partnerships to improve family planning services in Bangladesh

  Under this study, a public-private partnership (PPP) was developed to help private medical practitioners (PMPs) implement a referral strategy between themselves and family planning centres. We assessed whether the PPP model was effective in increasing the use of long-acting reversible contraceptive methods (LARCMs) and acceptable to both public and private healthcare providers.Our findings revealed
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A mHealth intervention (mTB-Tobacco) for smoking cessation in people with tuberculosis: a two-stage adaptive design, randomized trial (Quit 4 TB Trial)

Quit 4 TB Trial project aims to assess in people with TB who smoke daily and check the effectiveness and cost effectiveness of mTB-Tobacco in achieving continuous abstinence for at least six months and also assess the effectiveness and cost effectiveness of mTB-Tobacco in enhancing TB treatment adherence and improving clinical outcomes. We will conduct
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Utilisation and Effectiveness of Women Friendly Hospital Initiative: Problems, Prospects and Way Forward

The Women Friendly Hospital Initiative (WFHI) was launched in Bangladesh in 1998 with the goal of improving the quality of healthcare and addressing the needs of women during pregnancy, childbirth, and postpartum. The initiative aimed to reduce maternal mortality, fight against violence, and eliminate discrimination against women. It focuses on creating environment for women to
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Understanding the ‘Overlapping’ Risks of Climate Change and Urbanisation

In the era of climate change, growing inequality, rapid urbanisation, humanity is dealing with a complex knot of apparently separate but actually deeply entangled risks. If not addressed the risk synchronisation can lead to critical crises and eventually will overwhelm the societal capacity to adapt. These overlapping risks (OR) have differential impact across gender. Decision
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Fiscal and Regulatory Mechanisms for Promoting Healthy Diets in Bangladesh

Diet-related non-communicable diseases (NCDs) continue to rise in Bangladesh, disproportionately affecting women, children, and the poor. The complex interaction of the fresh food supply chain, price drivers, competition from low-cost and low-nutrition products, and cultural influences affect access to consuming a healthy diet. This project aimed to review how fiscal and regulatory measures can be
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Community-led Responsive and Effective Urban Health Systems (CHORUS)

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
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A Multicomponent Intervention to Reduce Home-Exposure to Second-Hand Smoke (SHS) During Pregnancy and Postnatal Period (IMPRESS)

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
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Community Engagement for Tackling Anti-microbial Resistance (CE4AMR)

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a global health concern that requires a multidisciplinary approach. Community engagement (CE) has been recognized as a crucial strategy for addressing AMR, as it involves the active participation of community stakeholders in identifying and implementing sustainable interventions. However, there is a need to understand how CE approaches are currently utilised in
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