Expanding Access to Healthcare in Bangladesh

In partnership with HOPE Foundation for Women and Children of Bangladesh, World Telehealth Initiative has programs in two locations in Bangladesh.

Our first location is at HOPE Hospital in Cox’s Bazaar, Bangladesh. That program has been up and running for over a year. Due to our initial success in providing medical access to the community, a full-time telehealth doctor has been hired. Our goal is to maximize the number of patients that receive care. Each telehealth consultation serves an average of three patients. By the end of this month, we will have approximately 50 telemedicine sessions per month, which enables us to serve 150 patients per month, at just this one Hospital! These patients do not have other care options available to them.

HOPE Hospital is also working to expand their mental health program.  The needs are vast, in part due to the radical changes the community has experienced with the influx of one million neighbors from Myanmar.  Mental health care is in short supply, but two young therapists are dedicated to building their program at HOPE.  WTI will support them with psychiatric and mental health experts.

Now that an internet connection has been established in the Rohingya Refugee camp, we are able to launch a second program in Bangladesh at the HOPE Field Hospital inside the camp. The telehealth device recently arrived onsite.  Dr. Ismail and Dr. Biswas are two dedicated Bangladeshi physicians that work onsite utilizing the telehealh device to care for Rohingya women and children.   This population has experienced unfathomable atrocities, and continue to live in difficult conditions — their healthcare needs are numerous.  Now Doctors Ismail and Biswas can tap into WTI’s team of volunteer supporting physicians when cases occur that are outside of their area of expertise.

Two therapists working in HOPE Hospital’s Mental Health Unit.

See more photos below from our program in Bangladesh: