Safe Motherhood project in Bangladesh

The government has adopted a US dollar six million project with assistance from Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) to enhance Maternal and Neonatal Health (MNH) service in three districts in next five years.

The project titled Safe Motherhood Promotion Project (SMPP) phase-II will start tomorrow in Narsingdi, Jessore and Satkhira districts to support the government's strategic plan for the Health Population and Nutrition Sector Development Program (HPNSDP), JICA's senior Programme Officer Salma Akhter told BSS on June 30, 2011.

The Japan government is assisting the project aiming at helping the Bangladesh government to reduce maternal and neonatal mortality in the country, she said.


The project is designed to enhance maternal and neonatal health activity coordination among stakeholders at national level, to strengthen upazila health system and to disseminate good practices and lessons learnt from this project to all over the country.

The ultimate goal of the project is provide quality MNH services with proper care for women and newborn babies of the target areas, Salma said.

With the support of JICA, the health and family welfare ministry earlier implemented the Safe Motherhood Promotion Project Phase- 1 in Narsingdi district from July 2006 to June 2011 as pilot basis, which is recognized as 'Narsingdi Model' by the government.

Under the Narsingdi Model, the health status of women and neonates was improved through strengthening safe delivery service and supporting women and neonates to utilize obstetric and neonatal care services. As a result of the project, the death rate of pregnant women in Narsingdi has declined from 1.7 to 0.4 percent at the health facilities where emergency obstetric care is available, sources related to the project said.

Local union parishads are active partners of the project while regular meeting, pregnancy registration and mapping, securing transportation for emergency referrals, funding support for poor pregnant women, awareness raising on safe motherhood and birth planning sessions are the key elements of the system.

This is a successful model of Maternal and Neonatal Health built on the cultural and economic context of Bangladesh for achieving number four and five of Millennium Development Goals.

ADB loan of $75 million for Khulna Water Supply Project

Bangladesh government signed a loan agreement on June 27 of $75 million (approximately Tk 524 crore) with Asian Development Bank (ADB) to expand reliable access to potable water in Khulna city.

Economics Relations Division (ERD) Secretary M Musharraf Hossain Bhuiyan and ADB country director Thevakumar Kandiah signed the agreement on behalf of Bangladesh and ADB respectively at NEC-II in city's Sher-e-Bangla Nagar.

The assistance will improve and extend water distribution network and water sources management in Khulna city and ensure professional and sustainable corporate management of Khulna WASA, said an ADB release.

The project will improve the access to the piped network from 23 percent in 2010 to 62 percent by 2018, benefiting about 710,000 persons in Khulna city. It would expand the access to water supply services by building a surface water treatment plant and extending the distribution network to cover the whole city.

"The project will contain water-borne diseases and improve the overall health condition in the city," said ADB Country Director Thevakumar Kandiah. "It will also reduce the drudgery of women who spend a daily average of 90 minutes managing water for the whole family."

He said that after the project is completed in 2017, the entire population of Khulna city will benefit from improved access to clean water round the clock. The project will be implemented by Khulna WASA under the Local Government Division (LGD) while the implementation period of the project is April 2011 to June 2017.

To achieve the goal for supplying 11 crore liter pure drinking water daily in Khulna city, the following activities will be undertaken under the project. These include rehabilitation of deep tube wells and expansion of water distribution network, establishment of water distribution pipeline, construction of surface water treatment plant, distribution reservoir and overhead tanks, strengthening corporate management system of Khulna WASA and related other activities.

Under the project, the water distribution system will be extended and water will be delivered efficiently in Khulna city. An additional 490,000 persons will have a new connection to the piped network, and 220,000 persons who already have a connection will benefit from the improved services.

Of the estimated project cost of $363.60 million, Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) will provide about $ 184 million while the rest of $ 104.60 million will be provided by the government apart from ADB financing.

The ADB loan will have a 32-year term, including a grace period of 8 years, an interest charge of 1.0 percent per annum during the grace period and 1.5 percent per annum thereafter, and such other terms and conditions set forth in the draft loan and project agreements.

Citizens in Khulna city have been suffering from limited access to water supply services. Only 23 percent of the population of about 1 million has access to piped water supply, and the rest resorts to alternative sources, such as shared public taps and tube wells built privately.

The project will develop a sustainable water supply system in Khulna city, which relies entirely on groundwater. It will introduce surface water as the main water source for sustainable water resource management in Khulna city. The project adopts a climate-proof design, adapting to an expected increase in the salinity of the river water as a result of sea level rise.

The project's capacity building component will also strengthen the corporate management system of Khulna Water Supply and Sewerage Authority (KWASA), which has been established in February 2008. -BSS