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High-quality healthcare services in rural areas

Achieving Sustainability Towards Healthcare Access (ASTHA) aims at contributing to the development and expansion of sustainable and high-quality healthcare at the community level by training young adults (60% women) from twelve rural districts as skilled health workers. The ASTHA-project improves the health and living conditions of the local population and, at the same time, addresses the problem of the high number of un- and underemployed youth in Bangladesh. 
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Nilphamari
25.943674
88.866156
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Sunamganj
25.059394
91.401355
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Patuakhali
22.357842
90.333032
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Lalmonirhat
25.9923398
89.28472510000002
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Rangpur
25.7438916
89.275227
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Sylhet 
24.8949294
91.8687063
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Barguna 
22.0952915
90.11206960000001
Bangladesh
Project duration
2019 - 2026

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Bangladesh suffers from both a shortage and geographic maldistribution of human Resources for health. The country had four nurses and midwives and six physicians per 10 000 people in 2019 while the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends 44.5 skilled health professionals per 10 000 inhabitants. The availability of primary healthcare services and skilled healthcare professionals is very limited in rural areas in particular.

The Project

ASTHA, formerly known as TARSAN, started in 2011 to address this gap in Bangladesh’s health sector. As a result of the project’s previous efforts, the Community Paramedic Training Programme is now an established professional training offered by private training institutes and governed by the Bangladesh Nursing and Midwifery Council under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. Young men and women acquire medical knowledge and specialised competence in the two-year course for Community Paramedics. Apart from theoretical training with a strong focus on mother-child health, they complete a six-month internship in a hospital. This qualifies them for diagnosis and treatment of frequently occurring diseases that are not complex. Moreover, the graduates are able to provide professional support during pregnancies and assistance at births.

ASTHA is currently in its third four-year project phase (2023-2026) and works in the following three areas:

  1. the modernisation and effective promotion of the Community Paramedic course,
  2. the establishment of private sector driven service offers for Community Paramedics that allow them to improve their business activities and service quality,
  3. fostering a strong engagement from relevant authorities to strengthen and promote the Community Paramedic profession nationwide.

ASTHA Phase III (2023 – 2026) is being implemented in twelve districts of Bangladesh: Nilphamari, Lalmonirhat, Dinajpur, Rangpur, Gaibandha, and Bogura in the north, Sunamganj, Moulovibajar, and Sylhet in the north-east and Barishal, Barguna, and Patuakhali in the south.

Project partners

  • National and local healthcare authorities
  • Bangladesh Nursing and Midwifery Council
  • Community Paramedic Training Institutes
  • Community Paramedic Association
  • Technology companies
  • Financial service providers

Expected Results

Improved healthcare services for people in remote communities

  • 185 000 community members (60% ♀) receive high-quality affordable healthcare services from Community Paramedics

Strengthened Community Paramedic training system

  • 30 Community Paramedic training institutes access training modernisation services
  • 1 350 Community Paramedic trainees complete the two-year training (60% ♀)

Strengthened Community Paramedic service provision

  • 1 440 Community Paramedics (60% ♀) access services that help them establish their business and improve their service offer
  • As a result, their annual average income increases by CHF 280

Financing partners

This project is financed by Novartis, the Evi Diethelm Winteler Stiftung, and the Laguna Foundation, among other donors. It is part of the Swisscontact Development Programme, which is co-financed by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), Federal Department of Foreign Affairs FDFA.

Videos for Community Paramedics

General service guideline in the time of Covid-19
(in Bengali)
Learn more
COVID Symptoms
(in Bengali)
Learn more

Downloads

Live Mag: Priming Paramedics (June 2017)
460 kB
Beneficiary Story - Marzia Akhtar Popi (2017)
702 kB

News

View all news from High-quality healthcare services in rural areas
Bangladesh
Initial vocational education and training
13.06.2024
ASTHA organised a Training of Trainers (ToT) on the Community Paramedic (CP) Course
ASTHA conducted a six-day long Training of Trainers (ToT) with 16 faculty members from six Community Paramedic Training Institutes (CPTIs) in Dhaka. The objective was to enhance the teaching skills of the participants and enable them to train other faculties in their institutions. Gracing the event as the Special Guest, Md. Nasir Uddin, the registrar of Bangladesh Nursing and Midwifery Council (BNMC), provided the training’s opening and closing remarks.
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Bangladesh
Initial vocational education and training
20.05.2024
Job Fair in Sylhet connects community paramedics with employers
Shomvob with support from ASTHA organised a job fair in Sylhet. This is the first time that an event like this has been organized which brought together over 300 community paramedics and representatives from more than 15 healthcare service providing institutes. It was a chance for the aspiring community paramedics to explore exciting career paths and for employers to discover the pool of qualified healthcare providers. Jonmejoy Dutta, the Deputy Civil Surgeon of Sylhet graced the event as the chief guest, highlighting the important role that community paramedics are playing in the rural healthcare sector.
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Bangladesh
Initial vocational education and training
18.12.2023
ASTHA organised a validation workshop of the Community Paramedic (CP) Service Guideline 
ASTHA team conducted a validation workshop with relevant government officials to review the draft of the Community Paramedic Service Guideline, with the objective of ensuring quality service delivery of the CPs, especially in the rural areas of Bangladesh.  
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