Dhaka, Bangladesh (BBN) – BRAC, the world’s largest NGO (non-government organization), will provide health care services using mobile phones, officials said on Thursday.
The BRAC has already singed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with ClickDiagnostics Inc., a U.S. based social enterprise, and Alliance Forum Foundation, a U.S. based non-profit public corporation, in this connection, they added.
Under a six-month long pilot project, selected health workers of the BRAC Health’s Manoshi program will use special software-equipped mobile phones, developed by the ClickDiagnostics, to collect data from patients particularly maternal, neonatal and child which will be used for real-time screening of risky patients and strategic interventions for patient management.
“We’ve planned to extend the program after successfully completed the project,” Senior Media Manager of the BRAC Zia Hashan told BBN in the capital, Dhaka, adding that the BRAC has learned over time to find the poorest of the poor – those who are destitute and outside the reach of most NGOs – and help them rebuild their lives from scratch and achieve financial independence.
Currently, BRAC is working to combat poverty in 70,000 villages and 2000 slums, and reaches three quarters of the entire population with an integrated package of services for rural and urban communities in Bangladesh.
The BRAC employs more than 100,000 people – microfinance officers, teachers, health staff, and enterprise managers – to be on the very doorstep of the poorest families making their services accessible, relevant and adaptable.
BBN/SS/SI/AD-23July09-1:58 pm (BST)
