BSS, Rangpur :
The extent of water-borne diseases continues to decrease following laudable success achieved in sanitation coverage improving hygienic status of the extremely poor people living in the remote riverine char areas.
As a result, health index of the char people, who already have won over abject poverty with assistance of the Chars Livelihoods Programme (CLP), has improved with reduction in water-borne diseases in ten northwestern riverine districts on the Brahmaputra basin.
Earlier, poor sanitation condition in char areas caused ill health to the parents, especially mothers, also affecting child health directly through spreading water-borne diseases like diarrhoea, cholera, dysentery and jaundice afflicting people in many ways.
Former Divisional Health Director Dr Shahadat Hossain informed the national news agency that the char people had been lacking minimum sanitation facility even a decade ago in char areas basically sheltering sick mothers, kids and a bleak future.
“Spread of water-borne diseases has reduced to the minimum now following successful implementation of the CLP through GO-NGO collaboration and the char people now understand that sanitary latrine is a precondition for better health,” he said. According to CLP sources, the extremely poor char families have set up sanitary latrines and tube wells on their raised plinths with the money they saved from incomes earned from various income generation activities with assistance of the local NGOs.
Under the comprehensive CLP activities, 1.27 lakh extremely poor char households, out of targeted 1.33 lakh, of ten northwestern riverine districts have now their access to hygienic sanitation and pure drinking water facilities after becoming self-reliant.
At the same time, the women-led CLP beneficiary households have also easy access to primary health and medicare services, family planning and their children are now healthy enough to go to the schools with a dream of brighter future.
The CLP has been working with the extremely poor char households to improve their livelihoods through providing package supports, assets and raising plinths for promoting income generation activities since 2004 under adverse climatic situations.
Livelihoods Coordinator of CLP Dr. Mahbub Alam said the multi-dimensional and comprehensive CLP activities are being implemented by different NGOs successfully in the hardly reachable char villages. “Some 55,000 poorest households were benefited under CLP phase-I during 2004-2010 and 72,000 out of 78,000 households so far under phase-II (2010-2016) to improve livelihoods of 1.9 million extremely poor char people by 2016,” he said.
The UKaid through the Department for International Development (DFID) and Australian Government through Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID) have been supporting for implementation of the CLP activities.
The Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives of Bangladesh Government has been sponsoring implementation of the comprehensive programme with the management of Maxwell Stamp Plc.
Like in the other char areas, the CLP beneficiary households have achieved laudable success in remote Dhushmara Char on the Teesta bed in Rangpur and Kawniar Char on the Brahmaputra bed in Kurigram improving their hygienic facilities.
