Amirabad Clinic 3.36

Amirabad Clinic is being built to serve the members of rural villages in Faridpur with basic health care services, awareness programs and advocacy.
There are no medical services available in a radius of 20 km of the location, which is a very long distance in an area where the most common medium of transportations are rickshaws and bicycles. The closest access to medical services that villagers have is to Paramedics/Pharmacists (as they are called), who have no designation or formal training, and who are located in the village markets. It costs the villagers about Tk.200 (USD$2.6) for transportation to the town to receive medical care and another approx Tk.500 (USD$7) for doctor fees, plus additional costs for diagnostics. This is an excessive and unbearable burden on villagers where the average monthly income is Tk.3000 ($45 USD).

Amirabad Clinic will have a well-qualified, certified family physician available 5 days a week along with a certified nurse and a pharmacist to see patients on a walk-in basis. The Clinic is partnering with diagnostic centers and large hospitals around the country to provide assistance with ambulance services, discounted diagnostic services and specialist consultations for patients on need-based referrals by our doctors.

For our awareness programs, we are organizing theatrical performances by high school students through 30 minute long plays that will be performed at the local market areas. The very first social issue that will be addressed is Child Marriage.

We will be meeting with villagers on an annual basis, on an ‘uthan baithak’ (town hall setting) to discuss how our programs are impacting them, to gain practical feedback for improvements, and to discuss other needs in their lives. We will be designing advocacy programs accordingly and forming committees to run them.