Highlights 2017
In 2017, over 2.5 million customers, especially undeserved women and children were served through 54 clinics and satellite clinics Over 9,000 babies were born in PSTC facilities 2,85,300 women received Antenatal Care and Postnatal Care at PSTC facilities

Projects Implemented under Population, Health and Nutrition (PHN)

1. Urban Primary Health Care Services Delivery Project (UPHCSDP)

Currently, around 30% people of Bangladesh reside in urban areas. As a result of rapid urbanization, this percentage is projected to increase to 60% by 2030 (CIA World Bank Fact Book).  This rapid expansion has placed significant pressure on health services and facilities in urban areas. Considering limitations and scopes, the Local Government Division of the Government of Bangladesh had taken initiative to provide primary health care services to the urban people through partnership among urban local bodies and Non-Government Organizations and with the financial support of Asian Development Bank (ADB) and other co-financers. Evolving from previous two projects, the Local Government Division has been implementing Urban Primary Health Care Services Delivery Project (July 2012 to June 2017) with the financial support of Asian Development Bank, Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency and the United Nations Population Fund. Now this project is running 9 month extension from July 2017 to march-2018. To improve the health status of the urban population and sustainable Primary Health Care (PHC) Services, PSTC in collaboration with Government of Bangladesh, Asian Development Bank (ADB) and Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA) has taken over below five Partnership Areas:

1. Urban Primary Health Care Service Deliver Project (PA-1), Dhaka
2. Urban Primary Health Care Service Deliver Project (PA-4), Dhaka
3. Urban Primary Health Care Service Deliver Project (PA-5), Dhaka
4. Urban Primary Health Care Service Deliver Project (PA-2), Rajshahi
5. Urban Primary Health Care Service Deliver Project (PA-1), Gazipur

The overall goal of the 5 year project is to improve the health status of the urban population, especially the poor, through improved access to and utilization of efficient, effective and sustainable Primary Health Care (PHC) Services. Over the five partnership areas, PSTC has established 23 Primary Health Care Center (PHCC) and 5 Comprehensive Reproductive Health Care Center (CRHCC).  Also 234 Satellite clinics have been set up at community level. Every center incorporated all primary health care components of Essential Services Package (ESP). Each PHCC serves approximately a population of around 50,000 customers and the CRHCC provide Reproductive & Emergency Obstetric Care (EOC) services. In this reporting year total 10,07,741 number of customers were reached with total 15,46,885 number Services from PSTC’s 5 partnership areas in Dhaka South, Gazipur and Rajshahi City Corporation.

Community members believe that PSTC facilities are the place for modern primary health care service for the community. The model of primary health care clinic followed is thought to be reasonable and at affordable charge. It is also a unique model of Public Private Partnership for providing healthcare to the urban poor, especially to the mothers and children. Positive impact / image developed among the people about health service organized by the GOB and City Corporation. The service center is very much proximate to the city dwellers as result they come to the clinic for services with affordable, accessible and subsidized price. Continuous monitoring and follow-up of pregnant women encourage them to take institutional delivery services thus reducing the maternal mortality. Local government institution members like councilor can take vital role at institution level for augmenting the services and help to solve problem at the local level. Ultra-poor are able to avail services free of cost thus saving the life of so many marginalized and ultra-poor. This program has created opportunity to redress violence against women.

2. Marketing Innovations for Sustainable Health Development (MISHD) Project:

Population Services and Training Center (PSTC) is implementing Community Mobilization Program “Notundin” under the Marketing Innovations for Sustainable Health Development (MISHD) Program in partnership with Social Marketing Company (SMC). The aim of the program is to contribute to sustainable improvements in the health status of women and children in Bangladesh by increasing access to and demand for essential health products and services through the private sector. This USAID supported project has started the journey from November 2016 and will be continuing to July 2021. PSTC is implementing the program in 155 unions under 16 upazilla in 5 districts of Dhaka & Chittagong divisions. Under this project, a total of 332 Community Sales Agents (CSAs) are oriented on HTSP and 1000 days messages and introduce with SMC’s health & family planning products. All CSAs are now doing their social business through selling of SMC’s health & family planning products. The year 2017 was very important for implementing the project to achieve the highest performance in marketing of products through capacity building training and motivational activities for the selected Community Sales Agent (CSA). Raising awareness through orientation session, day observation among community people also had a tremendous effect on improve using essential health products. In order to create enabling environment, PSTC continues to implement the community level activities through advocacy meeting with community influencing people like; UP chairman & members, local religious leader, teachers, health workers, NGOs, etc. The project has conducted group meetings on HTSP and 1000 days with married women at reproductive age, caregivers, husbands of married women at reproductive age and workers of different workplaces. School based health education sessions on adolescents’ sexual and reproductive health & hygiene girls & boys who are at 13 to 19 age group improve their health care seeking behavior. Other than these activities PSTC observed world TB day, safe motherhood day, world population day and world breastfeeding week at the community level in 8 working upazillas.

As a Community Sells Agent, Ms. Luthfa become Self Sustainable

Just one and half years back Luthfa was a mere House Keeper to feed two of her children even with her mentally ill husband and barely living on their means. Only for the lack of financial ability, she had to make her two elder daughters marry at their early age. And here is the Story of Luthfa regarding her struggle to be solvent enough to make her third daughter became an Honors’ student and even manage the huge expense for the treatment of her defiantly able husband.

Luthfa was born in a house of poor farmer Md. Khalil Sheikh of Vatimbuk village of Sirajdikhan, Munshiganj and got marry at an early age. After marriage, she came to know that her husband was mentally disable and unable to earn any means. She had to work as housekeeper at others’ residence to support her family. After a while as the family grew with three daughters and a son, it was impossible for her to bear the family expense any more. So yet again, to reduce the burden, her eldest two daughters got married early. Subsequently she was impaled to think about the early marriage of college going youngest daughter and while her youngest son was not in the school yet. Her dream of making her children educated, self-sufficient and established in the society were about to be burnt.

In November 2016, Luthfa met Nasrin Akter Munni, a Community Mobilizer of “Notundin” program of PSTC and came to know about the program activities.

Luthfa express her dream and her current situation to Munni. Munni described the opportunity of Community Sales Agent (CSA) of Notundin by selling the health related products of Social Marketing Company (SMC) at door to door in the community. Upon Luthfa’s integration to become a CSA, she started with a mere capital of Taka Four Hundred only. At the first month, she managed to contribute to her children education from her earned profit. She realized the benefits of this process of work and apprehended that it might reach her to her well-wished dream. She started to work and walk harder from village to village intended to earn profit and raise her capital as well as established her image as a trustworthy CSA with adequate health related knowledge. Within a short span of time, she raised her capital to Taka Ten Thousand and from her hard-earned profit, she began to support her family the way she never thought of – her daughter continued her study for her HSC exam and her son admitted to school. In these recent days, the capital of Luthfa rises to Taka Twenty Thousand and her profit is close to Taka Ten Thousand per month. Her daughter is studying in National University and her son is in Class II. Now SHE CANbear the expensive cost of her husband’s psychological treatment as well.

3. NGO Health Service Delivery Project-NHSDP/ Advancing Universal Health Coverage – AUHC

PSTC has been implementing NGO Health Service Delivery Project (NHSDP) later on known as Advancing Universal Health Coverage (AUHC) since October 2014 with the goal to become technically and managerially self-sufficient in the provision of essential health services with the support from NHSDP/ USAID and UKAID. During the reporting period the project continued ESP services through the ongoing static clinics and satellite clinics and CSPs by maintaining coverage and uptake, quality, equity and institutional strengthening as per the instruction and suggestion of the donor agency. PSTC has been providing services through 24 SurjerHashi Clinics and 346 Satellite Clinics in 13 wards of Dhaka South and North City Corporation & One peri urban Badda and 6 municipalities (Bhairab, Kishoreganj, Narsingdi, B. Baria, Siddirgonj under Narayanganj and Madhobdi) and 3 upzilas (Belabo, Monohordi and Raipura) under Narsingdi district.

In the reporting period 12,29,080 services were provided among  6,86,484 number of Customer of which 2,01,597 services were free of charge and 3,30,438 services were partially free of charge.