FHI 360 has worked in Bangladesh for more than 40 years. Since 1976, we have conducted more than 100 projects in areas such as family planning, maternal health and HIV research. These projects have ranged from evaluation and acceptability of contraceptive methods, to service delivery research for family planning, to maternal health, to behavioral surveys for HIV and much more.
For the last 13 years, we have helped confront the HIV epidemic in Bangladesh, partnering with the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and the National AIDS/STD Program to (1) provide prevention services, care and support to populations with a high likelihood of exposure to HIV and (2) strengthen the national response to the virus. We also work closely with the National Nutrition Services to improve infant and young child feeding practices throughout the country. And, we work with the National Tuberculosis (TB) Program to address TB and the national Neglected Tropical Disease Control Program to help control and eliminate neglected tropical diseases.
More recently, FHI 360 has taken on a wide range of other human development challenges. Our experts provide technical assistance to respond to emerging diseases, develop and oversee implementation of hospital accreditation standards, improve water and sanitation, and integrate a gender perspective into our other projects.
With mobile devices quickly growing in popularity, FHI 360 has also been at the forefront of helping Bangladesh move toward the digitization of payments and financial services, particularly in the sectors of agriculture, health and ready-made garments. Our work has led to the introduction of two digitally enabled microcredit products for smallholder farmers, which are the first of their kind in the country.