How Effective are BRAC's Health Programs?

Implementing programs is only the first step to addressing the health concerns of the poor; BRAC also does regular research to measure the effectiveness of its programs and track the impact on the local community. We thought we'd share some of the finding culled from research on BRAC's health programs in Bangladesh.

The information below draws from studies and surveys done by or in collaboration with BRAC's Research and Evaluation Division on family planning; maternal, neonatal, and child health; Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) and HIV/AIDS awareness.

A Health Promoter makes a household visit. 80,000 health promoters provide services to over 32 million households in Bangladesh.

Family Planning

• In 2004 a study showed that 57% of poor BRAC members used family planning, compared to 49.6% of poor non-members and 51.3% of non-poor non-members.
• A 2006 survey showed that 68% of women in Bangladesh used contraception of any kind, with the highest rates among BRAC's village organization (VO) members at 76%.
  

A monthly village health forum. Topics range from family planning to immunization.

Aids Awareness

• In 1995 only 1.6% of a surveyed population of women knew using condoms prevented HIV/AIDS. In a follow up in 1999, that figure had improved to 31% for BRAC members, while for non-members awareness was at 20.3%.
  
• A 2005 survey showed that Commercial Sex Workers listed BRAC as their main source of information about HIV/AIDS (94%).

Maternal, Neonatal and Child Health

• In 2006, 84% of children had completed immunization of all doses. This figure was highest among BRAC VO members at 100%, and lowest in non-poor non-members at 69%.
• A 2002 survey showed that infant survival upto 60 months was at 94% for BRAC members, compared to 90% for poor non-members.

A Health worker conducts a prenatal household visit.

Water, Sanitation and Health (WASH)

• Between 1992 and 1999, use of safe water for cooking increased from 4.8% to 13.7% for BRAC households and 12.1% for non-BRAC households among the surveyed population.
• A nation-wide survey in 2006 showed BRAC was the leading source of information about sanitary latrines, reaching even more people than mass media. 79% of the Ultra poor and 76% of BRAC VO members cited BRAC as their primary source.

Working together in a BRAC sanitary napkin center.

It's clear that significant strides have been made, but it's equally clear that there's still a long way to go. The improvements in family planning, AIDS awareness, sanitation, and maternal and child care are certainly achievements to be proud of, but we cannot afford to rest on them. There is still much work to be done in improving these numbers as well as reaching out to those who still do not benefit from our services.

Click here to see more of the research donw by our Research and Evaluation Division.

- Maher Sattar