Bangladesh, officially the People’s Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is bordered by India and Burma (Myanmar) and faces the Bay of Bengal to its south. Together with the Indian state of West Bengal, it makes up the ethnolinguistic region of Bengal. The name Bangladesh literally means “Bengal Country” in the official Bengali language.

The estimate HIV prevalence is Bangladesh is 7,700 [4,900 - 16,000] with low HIV rates among adults  aged 15 to 49  <0.1% (2009). However, HIV prevalence is higher among key population groups such as sex workers, men who have sex with men (MSM) and people who inject drugs (PWID).

This project is co-ordinated by Family Planning Association of Bangladesh (FPAB) and South Asia Regional Office (SARO) – International Planned Parenthood Federation.

FPAB initiated the project activities through alliance building efforts with different stakeholders who can play an influential role in taking forward the agenda of integration in Bangladesh. The aim was to leverage support of International Agencies and Government apart from increasing commitment of Country Coordinating Mechanism (CCM) members.

Key Achievements

• The Country Team was formed with 11 members comprising of representatives from UNFPA, WHO, UNAIDS, UNICEF, Network of Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health- Bangladesh, STD/AIDS Network, South Asia Regional Youth Network, National AIDS/STD Program (NASP) and PLHIV network.
• As per the recommendations of Rapid Assessment review undertaken by UNFPA, FPAB divided its efforts at the policy and system level by being part of the technical committees and developing capacities of the CSOs.
• Eight consultants of the Technical Hub experienced in SRH, HIV, gender, proposal writing organized meetings and workshops with Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) to increase basic understanding on linkage and integration. 21 CSOs were trained at different times on SRH HIV Integration, Gender mainstreaming, Young people and importance of integrated services.
• In collaboration with Network of Adolescent Reproductive Rights and Services (NEARS), FPAB organized sensitization meeting on youth friendly integrated service provision with the CSO members who are working with young people. This has paved the way for the formation of youth coalition to promote integration.
• As a strategy to advocate at various levels, small grants were awarded to two local CSOs namely, Bangladesh Women’s Health Coalition (BWHC) and Bandhu Social Welfare Society. BWHC works with key population especially sex workers, hotel based sex workers and transport workers and Bandhu addresses the issues of transgender and MSM groups. Both the CSOs are focused to work on SRH HIV integration within the key population and are using their Global Fund experience in advocating the same.

Rapid assessment of sexual and reproductive health and HIV linkages: Bangladesh
This summary highlights the experiences, results and actions from the implementation of the Rapid Assessment Tool for Sexual and Reproductive Health and HIV Linkages in Bangladesh.
Year 2013| Authors: IPPF, UNAIDS, WHO, UNFPA
(Download PDF)

Ms. Hasina Shipra
Project Coordinator
Family Planning Association of Bangladesh (FPAB)
shipra@fpab.org

Susmita Choudhury
Project Coordinator SRH HIV Integration
International Planned Parenthood Federation South Asia Regional Office
schoudhury@ippfsar.org