Improved Health for the Poor

Health Nutrition and Population Research Project

The Improved Health for the Poor: Health, Nutrition and Population Research is a project of the Government of Bangladesh, funded by Japan Debt Relief-Fund Grant Assistance. Project parameters are guided by Millennium Development Goals 1, 4, 5 and 6, and it is the largest grant received by ICDDR,B to date. Improved Health for the Poor is a collaboration between scientists from ICDDR,B and the Government of Bangladesh, since January 2005.

ICDDR,B is the implementing agency, working with many relevant institutions, both governmental and non-governmental.

One of the Centre’s guiding values is promoting partnerships and we actively seek to build the capacity of national institutes through this project. The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare administers the overall progress of the project.

The project received a cost extension from January 2009 for eighteen months, with the additional funding from Japan’s Debt Cancellation Fund.

The Improved Health for the Poor: Health, Nutrition and Population Research project comprises the following 14 activities:

1. CHILD HEALTH
   Dr Shams El Arifeen
2. NUTRITION
   Dr Tahmeed Ahmed, Dr Fahmida Tofail, Dr Md. Munirul Islam
3. EVALUATING AND DEVELOPING NEW VACCINES
   Dr Stephen P Luby, Dr Aliya Naheed
4. POVERTY AND HEALTH
   Dr Abbas Bhuiya
5. STI/RTI
   Dr Md Anowar Hossain and Dr. Dipak Kumar Mitra
6. SAFE WATER
   Dr Sirajul Islam
7. INFECTIOUS DISEASE
   Dr Hubert Endtz, Dr Rashidul Haque, Dr Kazi M. Jamil, Dr Tasnim Azim, Dr Zeaur Rahim, Dr Sayera Banu, Dr Khalequz Zaman, Dr Kaisar Ali Talukder
8. REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH, INCLUDING FAMILY PLANNING, AND MATERNAL HEALTH
   Dr Marge Kobilinsky, Dr Mahbub Elahi Chowdhury, Dr ATM Anwar Iqbal
9. EPIDEMIC INVESTIGATION AND SURVEILLANCE
   Dr Stephen P Luby
10. TRAINING AND CAPACITY BUILDING
    Dr Aftab Uddin
11. HOSPITAL SURVEILLANCE FOR DIARRHOEA
    Dr ASG Faruque
12. HEALTH AND DEMOGRAPHIC SURVEILLANCE
    Dr Kim Streatfield
13. MATLAB COMMUNITY HEALTH RESEARCH
    Dr Mohammad Yunus and Dr Anisur Rahman
14. PLANNING AND HEALTH SYSTEM RESEARCH
    Dr Charles P Larson, Dr Tracey Koehlmoos, Dr Md. Jasim Uddin

The Principal Investigator(s) report on their activity to the Project Director, who administers the overall management, maintains reporting relations with ministries and concerned government agencies. The Technical Committee is a five-member group that initially reviews the specific projects to be undertaken each year under the Technical Assistance Project Proforma (TAPP). The committee makes recommendations on the reports and reviews of project activities, monitors administration and shares expert opinion with the Steering Committee. The Convener of the Technical Committee is the Executive Director of ICDDR,B and other four key members are representatives of the Health Ministry, DG Health, and DG Family Planning. In turn, the twenty-three member Steering Committee guides and coordinates activities to ensure that the project is on target, as well as approving budgets, monitoring compliance of government rules and regulations and annual work plans in their half-yearly meetings. The Secretary, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare is chair of the Project’s Steering Committee.

Bangladesh is one of 189 countries that have pledged to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015 and is one of only six developing countries on track to reach some of these goals. These ICDDR,B research projects, capacity building activities and collaborations with national institutions under the Improved Health for the Poor project are all facilitating Bangladesh’s progress towards reaching the respective Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

Millennium Development Goal 1
Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger.

Millennium Development Goal 4
Reduce child mortality.

Millennium Development Goal 5
Improve maternal health.

Millennium Development Goal 6
Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases.

Contact:
Ishtiaque A Zaman, PhD
Project Director, IHP: HNPRP
&
Head, ERID
Executive Director’s Division
ICDDR,B
E-Mail: ishtiaq@icddrb.org
Tel: 88-02-9881632, 8860524-32 Ext. 3300
Fax: 88-02-8823116

To access the interim report on ‘Improved Health for the Poor: Health, Nutrition and Population Research Project’ please click here