Delaying child marriage through community-based skills-development programs for girls: Results from a randomized controlled study in rural Bangladesh

In Bangladesh, where efforts to prevent child marriage have focused on the enforcement of laws and policies, little research exists on what approaches work best to delay marriage and why. To help fill this evidence gap, in 2012 the Population Council and partners embarked on a four-year study to understand whether skills-building approaches to empower girls can delay marriage in three districts in southern Bangladesh where child marriage rates are high. The BALIKA project reported here is the first rigorously evaluated study to provide evidence on approaches to delay child marriage in Bangladesh. BALIKA results show that programs that educate girls, build their skills for modern livelihoods, and engage their communities can reduce the likelihood of child marriage by one-third and produce better health, educational, and social outcomes for girls

Trends in maternal health services in Bangladesh before, during and after COVID-19 lockdowns: Evidence from national routine service data

Bangladesh instituted a national lockdown to contain community transmission of COVID-19, initially for ten days, from March 26 to April 4, 2020, then extended through May 30. During the lockdown, the pandemic and its mitigation measures’ impacts on social, economic, and financial aspects of life in Bangladesh were widely documented. Disruptions to the health system, particularly critical maternal health services, however, have received relatively less attention. This brief provides details on a study that analyzed potential impacts of COVID-19 and its related mitigation measures on maternal health services in Bangladesh, examining national and district trends in antenatal care (ANC), institutional delivery, and postnatal care (PNC). Monthly service statistics from January through July 2020 from the Directorate General of Family Planning of Bangladesh’s Ministry of Health and Family Welfare were examined to determine ANC, institutional delivery, and PNC service trends. Analysis did not include statistics from the Directorate General of Health Service, which are not publicly available

Learning loss among adolescent girls during the COVID-19 pandemic in rural Bangladesh

Poor learning remains a central challenge in Bangladesh despite considerable progress in advancing schooling access and reducing gender gaps in education. The learning crisis is feared to have been exacerbated during extended school closures and limited alternative opportunities for schooling during the COVID-19 pandemic. This brief summarizes findings on learning loss among adolescent girls during the pandemic in rural Bangladesh

Trends in family planning services in Bangladesh before, during and after COVID-19 lockdowns: Evidence from national routine service data

Bangladesh instituted a national lockdown to contain community transmission of COVID-19 initially for ten days, from March 26 to April 4, 2020, then extended through May 30. During the lockdown, the pandemic and its mitigation measures’ impacts on social, economic, and financial aspects of life in Bangladesh were widely documented. Disruptions to the health system, however, have received relatively less attention. This brief provides details on a study that analyzed the impacts of COVID-19 and its related mitigation measures on family planning (FP) services in Bangladesh, examining national and district trends for distribution and use of short-acting, long-acting and reversible, and permanent contraception, utilizing publicly available service statistics from before, during, and after the lockdowns. Monthly service statistics from the Directorate General of Family Planning (DGFP) of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare of Bangladesh were examined to determine trends in distribution and provision of short-acting (pill, condom, injectables), long-acting and reversible (intrauterine device and implant), and permanent contraceptive methods from January to July 2020, utilizing service statistics from both public- and private-sector providers that constitute DGFP data

Building the Adolescent Indicators and Gender Gaps Dashboard

The Adolescent Atlas for Action (A3) is a suite of tools that summarizes the lives and needs of adolescents around the world to promote evidence-based decision-making. Through accessible and easy-to-grasp data just one click away, the A3 bridges the gap between decisionmakers and evidence to inform policies and programs. The Adolescent Indicators dashboard and Gender Gaps dashboard are two simple but dynamic dashboards that provide insights on the lives of adolescent girls and boys living in low- and middle income countries (LMICs) across 9 thematic domains of wellbeing. The Adolescent Indicators dashboard showcases how adolescent girls or boys are faring under each theme, globally and subnationally, as well as how the indicators across domains are interlinked. The Gender Gaps dashboard allows you to compare gaps by domain and indicator, both globally and subnationally. This brief elaborates on the methodology for developing both dashboards

Understanding factors influencing adverse sex ratios at birth in Bangladesh

Nationally, the sex ratio at birth has persisted at its natural level of 105 male per 100 female newborns for the past half century in Bangladesh. However, at the regional level, Bangladesh is characterized by an east-west divide in sex ratios at birth. While the western region shows normal sex ratios at birth, the eastern region displays distorted sex ratios. To understand the factors that contribute to regional variations, a household survey was conducted among married women aged 18–49 years who had at least two living children. Views of health-care providers on gender-biased sex selection and of program implementers on the impact of gender-focused programs on the importance of having a daughter in the family were also gathered. The study was located in Comilla district which had an adverse sex ratio at birth, and Rangpur district having a normal sex ratio. Caution should be exercised in interpreting the findings, as the sample size of women interviewed was not adequate to reach a definitive conclusion. Future studies are needed that work with a larger sample

Financial inclusion of female garment workers

Since the 1980s rapid growth in the manufacturing of ready-made garments for export has created new opportunities for women industrial workers in Bangladesh. This study explores ways of improving the financial capabilities of these young, inexperienced wage earners through a targeted program of financial education. It also aims to identify scalable financing models that can be replicated to increase the opportunities of garment workers. The project culminated in a workshop to share results from the research study and to elicit discussions and recommendations based on the findings of the study. Recommendations include a preference for in-factory training in peri-urban areas, earlier intervention during vocational training, and policy advocacy to promote financial inclusion of the poor

From evidence to action: Results from the 2013 baseline survey for the BALIKA project

The Population Council and partners are working on a program to generate evidence on what works to prevent child marriage in Bangladesh. This report is an integral part of the program and presents evidence from a baseline study conducted in three districts in southern Bangladesh. The study documents data from a survey conducted in 96 villages on education, livelihoods, sexual and reproductive health, and social life. The program, which offers skills development for girls who are at highest risk and live in impoverished areas of the country with the highest child marriage prevalence, explores the potential benefits of investing in skills development for girls 12–19 years of age. The study finds that there are few opportunities for income earning or skills training. Similarly, very few of the respondents have opportunities to develop social networks or participate in civic engagement. By offering a place to meet other girls, socialize, build networks, and acquire skills, Bangladeshi Association for Life Skills, Income, and Knowledge for Adolescents (BALIKA) centers can help fill an important void in the lives of girls in the study area

Reducing unsafe menstrual regulation through medication in Bangladesh

The Population Council and Marie Stopes Bangladesh, in collaboration with the Directorate General of Family Planning and with funding from the World Health Organization, tested the feasibility of introducing menstrual regulation with medication (MRM) in Bangladesh and assessed the acceptability of providing MRM using the combination drug regimen mifepristone and misoprostol in urban and rural public health facilities. As reported in this policy brief, the study demonstrates that it is feasible and safe to introduce MRM in rural and urban public health facilities. Given the choice, almost two-thirds of women preferred MRM to manual vacuum aspiration and women receiving MRM reported being satisfied or very satisfied with their quality of care. The report recommends that the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and its partners work together to train providers and to procure the medical commodities to introduce MRM as an option for menstrual regulation in health facilities nationwide

Evaluation of the effectiveness of the HERhealth model for improving sexual and reproductive health and rights knowledge and access of female garment factory workers in Bangladesh

The Population Council, under its USAID-funded Evidence Project, partnered with Bangladesh’s Business for Social Responsibility program to conduct operational research to evaluate the effectiveness of the HERhealth model for improving female factory workers’ health, and to find ways to optimize program inputs and processes to support future scale-up of the intervention. This report presents findings from a pre- and post-intervention quantitative study of female factory workers from 10 factories; a qualitative study with factory managers, service providers, and implementing partners; and self-administered retention assessments of the Peer Health Educators from six factories in Dhaka, Gazipur, and Narayanganj districts. Findings from both the quantitative survey and qualitative interviews indicate that the HERhealth project, by educating female garment workers through a peer health educator model, is an effective model when fully implemented. Study findings also point to several recommendations for improving the sustainability of this project that are outlined in this report