Bangladesh has made progress in reducing maternal and child mortality. Maternal mortality declined 40% in the last 9 years to 194 per 100,000 live births due to fertility reduction and increased facility usage for complications. Under-5 mortality declined from 133 to 65 deaths per 1,000 live births, driven by reductions in child and post-neonatal mortality, though neonatal mortality remains high. World Vision Bangladesh works to improve child nutrition, health care, and prevent sickness through education. It also ensures healthy pregnancies and deliveries through awareness, birth attendant training, and antenatal/postnatal care. Key results include over 500,000 people trained in health topics and over 50,000 children fully immunized.

1. HER &
OT
TH
AL
ILD HE
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Maternal and Child Health and Nutrition
M
Key Facts
Bangladesh appears to be on track to achieving MDG 5
Maternal mortality declins in Bangladesh by 40% in the last 9 years to 194
per 100,000 live births
The main reasons for this decline in maternal mortality are
Fertility reduction
The use of fecilities for maternal complication increased from 16% to 28%
Bangladesh has achieved remarkable progress in population and health over the past 30 years and is one of six countries
that are on track to achieve the MDG for reducing child mortality. In the last 15 years, under 5 mortality rate has
declined from 133 deaths per 1000 live births to 65. This decline is mostly due to reduction in the child mortality rate
from 50 to 14 and the post-neonatal mortality rate from 35 to 15. The neonatal mortality rate, however, remains high at
37 accounting for 57 percent of all under-5 deaths. Although maternal deaths continue to decline steadily, the metarnal
mortality rate is still high about 340 per 100,000 live births. Since, the early 1970s, the Total Fertility Rate (TFR) has
declined from 6.3 children per women to 2.6 in 2011, and the contraceptive prevalence rate has increased from 8
percent to 56 percent. However, unplanned pregnancies still account for 30 percent of all births. Improvements in the
use of family planning and maternal and child health services are particularly slow in some geographic areas of the
country.
'It is not so easy task to perform child delivery. I have to take risk of two lives at a time, the mother and the baby', says
Aklima Begum, a renowned and admirable traditional birth attendant in her locality Boddipur colony, Satkhira. At a time
she is a housewife, a mother of two daughters, a midwife and also a small trader. She runs a tea-shop of her own.
Aklima attended two trainings on Traditional Birth Attendant (TBA), provided by Health and Economic Development
Project under Satkhira ADP. She reflected her changes
onto the community mother and family too. Earlier
whereas family members insisted the mother to give
birth in dirty place on old jute bag, they have become
careful about the hygiene now. Before, people
prevented newborn from drinking mother's milk
particularly colostrum, but now they spontaneously
ensure breast milk to newborn within one hour of
birth, a necessary measure for saving lives of thousands
of children in the country. Aklima feels proud of
herself as well as happy as a successful midwife as she
has got the opportunity to serve her community
because people can bear the expense in comparison
to spending at hospitals. Sometimes she also provides
voluntary service to the poor. It has also addressed the need of having a local and sustainable solution to safe delivery.
Aklima thinks her profession is a noble one because she can serve the community as well as her family. She thinks
someday somehow her effort will help her dream to come true of seeing her daughter as a good nurse in future.

2. World Vision Bangladesh’s Response
Goal:To improve the health and nutrition status of children and mothers and in
doing so lower mortality rates
Outcomes
WVB has been implementing health and nutrition interventions through ADPs over the past three decades, addressing the
following key strategic objectives:
under 3 years children gained body weight of more than
1. Improve child nutrition and health care and
400 grams in the first month of joining the program.
prevent sickness through
Supplement feeding and breastfeeding programs and
Education and awareness on oral rehydration therapy
education
Assistance in sanitary latrine and safe drinking water
Awareness building on child health issues and on
source installation
conditions under which medical assistance is
2. Ensure healthy pregnancy and delivery through
necessary
Awareness building and education in adolescent
Community mobilization and awareness on
reproductive health
immunization
Capacity building for birth attendants
Curative care facilitation for children including cost
Facilitation of antenatal and postnatal care by
reimbursement for health consultations and
medically-trained providers
prescription medication
3. Promote the well being of disabled children and
Education for mothers and other care givers on how
reduce preventable childhood disability through
to provide proper home care during sickness
Education on disability prevention
Enhancement of local doctors’ referral knowledge
Provision of assistive devices and physiotherapy to
and capacity to deliver basic care
meet the special needs of disabled children
Establishment of a referral system linking patients
through satellite clinics to quality Upazilla Health
4. Enhance mother and child health care during
Complex care
emergencies and disasters through
Facilitate PD hearth sessions with parents that cover a
Facilitation of medical consultancy, support and
household level nutrition security and WASH to reduce
medication delivery in affected areas
water borne diseases and found that a total of 15, 245
Key Results
1. A total of 5,07,439 (100%) community people including adolescents boys & girls, mothers, community volunteers &
TBA/SBA have been trained in different health education interventions like immunization, safe motherhood, diarrhea
management, nutrition and WATSAN in 55 ADPs under six WVB Divisions
2. About 52107 (132% of plan) children of age 12-23 months have been fully immunized (direct & supportive service)
through all WV ADPs
3. A total of 20474(104%) non-pregnant women (15-49 years) received TT 5 vaccine
4. 9131(108%) pregnant mothers (15-49 years) have been immunized with TT 2 vaccine to save the newborn baby &
mothers from tetanus diseases
5. ADPs immunized 2,7271(99%) community people with ‘Hepatitis B’ vaccine
6. 16,963(90%) pregnant women completed Ante Natal Care (ANC)
7. 8,257(94%) lactating mothers received Post Natal Care (PNC)
8. 251,746 (103% ) children received Polio Drops
9. 246 (11%) malnourished children rehabilitated
10. 3,481(122%) pregnant women targeted under feeding program
References:
1. Bangladesh Demographic profile 2011
2. Bangladesh Maternal Mortality & Health Care Survey 2010
3. Human Development Index 2011, UNDP
4. Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Bangladesh
5. World Health Statistics 2011
6. Banglapedia, National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh
7. The State of the World Children 2011/UNICEF
8. Bangladesh Maternal Mortality and Health Care Survey 2010
40 Years of Service to the Children of Bangladesh
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World Vision Bangladesh
Awal Center (4th floor)
34, Kamal Ataturk Avenue
Banani, Dhaka-1213
Web: www.wvasiapacific.org/bangladesh