Despite constitutional guarantees, Bangladesh is failing to deliver adequate healthcare to rural citizens

Bangladesh’s Constitution indicates that health is a basic right, and that the government is responsible for ensuring citizens’ access to healthcare. Yet the current system is failing those living in rural areas, even though they make up the majority of the population. Mohammad Tarikul Islam discusses the structure of health services in rural areas and where main challenges lie

How does local government cope with disaster in Bangladesh?

Successful coordination is an essential ingredient for Disaster Management. In the first of a two article series on human interactions with environment in rural Bangladesh, Mohammad Tarikul Islam examines the coordination in the comprehensive disaster management approach in rural Bangladesh under the auspices of local government (Union Parishad) and potential impediments to this approach

Climate negotiations: how does Bangladesh fare?

Climate change is the most significant challenge of the century, as increasing evidence of its impacts and the human actions responsible for it become apparent. There is a growing concern across the world regarding attaining the consensus and commitment needed to take action for positioning climate change in a broader foreign policy context. Mohammad Tarikul Islam examines this from the Bangladesh perspective

In quest of justice: dispute resolution in rural Bangladesh

In the second of his two-part series on local government relief efforts in rural Bangladesh, Mohammad Tarikul Islam argues that the dispute resolution process is lacking in inclusivity - often backing those with privileged circumstances or with close links to politics and public institutions. He considers the efficacy of local government driven dispute resolution and calls for a fairer arbitration process at the local level

How can Bangladesh utilise human security for rural development?

For safeguarding human security in rural Bangladesh, people-centred development is at the core of discourse: focusing on self-reliance, community living, social justice, and participatory decision-making. Unfortunately, it is missing in the context of rural Bangladesh, writes Mohammad Tarikul Islam

Access to justice for marginalised rural victims across South Asia: issues and challenges

For many people across South Asia needing to resolve a dispute but without access to formal justice systems, informal mechanisms have long been the norm. But how do they work in Bangladesh, India, Nepal and Pakistan, and how can they improve to ensure greater access to justice for rural marginalised people to the informal, asks Mohammad Tarikul Islam (Jahangirnagar University, Bangladesh)

Considering the consequences for human security: the influx of Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh

Human security is another challenge Bangladesh is already facing and it will intensify with the influx of the Rohingya refugees. Whilst The Bangladesh government has been praised for providing them with shelter, Mohammad Tarikul Islam discusses the security concerns of Rohingya refugees and the possibility of repatriation to Myanmar

Despite legislative and institutional arrangements, Bangladesh is struggling to improve environmental governance

Over the years Bangladesh has become seasoned in environmental management. However, enforcement of legislations across levels is lacking where attention must be paid. Mohammad Tarikul Islam highlights the underlying challenges ahead for environmental governance in Bangladesh, and where solutions might be found

Understanding the effectiveness of Union Parishad standing committee: a perspective on Bangladesh

As per the Local Government Act 2009 , committees act as an important apparatus safeguarding transparency and accountability of the Union Parishad. Regrettably, Union Parishad committees are not perceived and envisioned well by those shouldering the responsibility to take this committee forward. Mohammad Tarikul Islam evaluates the strengths and weaknesses of the committee system of local government in Bangladesh

A portable electromagnetic head imaging system using metamaterial loaded compact directional 3d antenna

A non-invasive, low-powered, and portable electromagnetic (EM) head imaging system is presented using metamaterial (MTM) loaded compact directional 3D antenna. The antenna consists of two slotted dipole elements with $2\times 3$ and $3\times 3$ finite MTM array elements in top and ground, respectively, and folded parasitic elements that operate within the frequency range of 1.12 GHz to 2.5 GHz. The MTM array elements are optimized to enhance the overall performance regarding antenna bandwidth, realized gain, efficiency, and directionality in both free space and proximity to the head model. The mathematical modelling is also analyzed to justify the integration of MTM unit cells to the top and ground side of the antenna. The impact of MTM on SAR analysis is also performed. A tissue-mimicking 3D head phantom is fabricated and measured to validate the antenna performance. A nine-antenna portable setup is used with the fabricated phantom to measure and collect the scattering parameters that are later analyzed to detect and reconstruct the haemorrhage images by applying the updated IC-CF-DMAS algorithm. The overall performance demonstrates the feasibility of the proposed system as a portable platform to successfully detect, locate and monitor the haemorrhages inside the head in EM imaging system. 2013 IEEE.This work was supported in part by the Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Malaysia, under Grant GUP-2020-017, and in part by the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Division, Ministry of Posts, Telecommunications and Information Technology, Bangladesh.Scopu