An Exploration of Poor Female Understanding about Health Hazards of Indoor Air Pollution in Bangladesh

This paper will identify health hazards associated with indoor air pollution (IAP) in Bangladesh. Research into IAP in Bangladesh has been neglected for many decades. This neglect may reflect aspect of the marginalization of women in Bangladeshi society, especially as cooking is considered a social responsibility of women. The main purposes of the paper are to examine types of the IAP-related health threats female domestic cook experienced and to understand their level of awareness about the link between IAP exposure and poor health outcomes. Two hundred female domestic cook in Rajshahi City, Bangladesh, were interviewed by using a semi-structured questionnaire interview method. Levels of monthly household income and of education, oven and fuel types are used as proxy determinants of class. Based on educational level, respondents were categorized into three classes: illiterate, primary (1-5 level) and secondary (6-10 level). It found that the higher the educational level the respondents had, the more they were likely to be aware of health effects associated with IAP. The author draws a conclusion that women with less monthly household income (below 5000 BD Taka) and minimum level of education, using solid fuels and mud-ovens in poor ventilated environment, are more likely to be exposed to IAP and, as a consequence, have greater health risks than others. Finally, as recommended, if the Bangladesh Government is able to supply green and clean fuel sources with subsidies for poor women, it would be easier for Bangladesh to achieve the 3rd Sustainable Development Goal—ensuring healthy lives and promoting well-being for all at all ages—at the right time (2030).Smoke in the home, the fourth greatest cause of death and diseases in the world’s poorest countries, kills more people than malaria does, and almost as many as unsafe water and sanitation. It kills 1.6 million people annually, nearly a million of them are children. Most of the rest are women (Smith et al., 2005)

Availability of and Accessibility to Primary Health Care Services for Women Living in Poverty: The Bangladesh Case

Poor women, in both rural and urban areas in the northern region of Bangladesh, suffer from high maternal mortality rates (MMR), and compared to other regions, this group also has a low proportion of births assisted by skilled attendants. This thesis critically examines the availability of and accessibility to primary, particularly maternal, healthcare services, provided by government and non-government organisations in Bangladesh. The broader purpose of this thesis is to probe the gap between the national MMR in Bangladesh and the target set by the 5th Millennium Development Goal (MDG). It also explores ways of reducing the gap, especially given that the country's MMR is very high compared to other South Asian countries. The study is significant because it has gone beyond the bio-medical approach (with the focus on human patho-physiology and emphasis on cure over prevention) and develops a bio-social approach to improve maternal health. The latter encompasses strategies to reduce high MMR from sociological and public health perspectives. The study used both primary and secondary data to meet its objectives. Triangulation of methods (questionnaire interviews of service users and providers, focus group discussions [FGD] and direct observations) were employed to collect primary data. A large number (160) of mothers who delivered at least one baby during the last ten years and the heads of relevant health centres were interviewed. Eight FGDs were conducted during the research. An assortment of articles, reports, theses and books were consulted in complementing and substantiating the arguments in this study

Factors associated with children’s subjective wellbeing during COVID-19 pandemic in Bangladesh

The study of subjective wellbeing has received increasing interest among social science researchers and policy makers in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, there appears to be a gap in the knowledge in terms of how the children experienced the pandemic, which may be different from the experience encountered by the adults. This article fills this gap by (a) examining children’s self-reported experience of the pandemic in Bangladesh and (b) identifying the socio-demographic, economic and psycho-social factors which were associated with their subjective wellbeing during the pandemic in the country. For this purpose, a child friendly questionnaire was developed, and a survey was conducted among 1370 children aged 10–12 years. The disruption caused by the pandemic was evident in children’s reporting of the movement of families from their usual place of living, job losses by their parents, food poverty, digital divide, and fear of the pandemic. In terms of factors affecting children’s wellbeing, eight factors (rural-urban differential, food poverty, digital inequality, support from friends and family, ability to manage learning from home, self-perceived safety, and worry about changes in student life) were found to have had statistically significant association with their wellbeing during the pandemic. These findings are discussed in the context of child wellbeing theories and previous empirical studies. Some policies are identified and put forward as recommendations for improving children’s wellbeing in Bangladesh