Empowering communities to combat NCDs

Syed Akhbar, 60, a resident of Shikdarpara village under Cox's Bazar Sadar upazila, went to a nearby community health clinic a year ago after experiencing an unusual, recurring headache.

After getting his blood pressure checked at the clinic, he was advised to seek further evaluation at the Non-Communicable Disease (NCD) corner of Cox's Bazar Sadar Hospital.

The following day, Akhbar consulted with a doctor at the hospital, who prescribed a single medication for his condition, provided free of charge at the NCD corner.

For the past year, Akhbar faithfully adhered to this treatment regimen and regularly got his blood pressure monitored at the Shikdarpara clinic.

He also attended many awareness meetings on non-communication diseases over the last year, which helped him make informed decisions.

"I now feel well. Thanks to everything I learned from awareness meetings in our community about diseases like hypertension and diabetes, I could quickly get help and prevent complications," he told this correspondent.

Near the clinic in Shikdarpara, several villagers gathered at one such awareness-building meeting on NCDs. One Ayesha Siddika, who had received training from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) on the subject matter, was facilitating the discussions.

"Often, people dismiss headaches by just taking paracetamol, but I encourage them to consult a doctor to have their blood pressure tested," Ayesha said.

"NCDs have become the cause of most deaths in Bangladesh in recent years. JICA is working on raising awareness among common people about NCDs through a campaign titled SHASTO2," said Dr Mahfuzur Rahman Bhuiyan, country lead and quality improvement consultant of the project.

Enhancing skills of healthcare workers, aiding in creating national protocols and guidelines, establishing NDC corners in hospitals, and supplying medical equipment are some of the main aims of this campaign.

Once trained, the community health workers are informing villagers about the prevention and management of NCDs, Dr Mahfuzur added.

"JICA is currently working in three upazilas at Cox's Bazar, Cumilla, and Narshingdi as part of the SHASTO2 campaign," said Rie Ozaki, chief advisor of the project.

JICA's interventions have led to a significant increase in number of patients visiting NCD corners to get proper diagnosis and better treatment, she added.

Contacted, U Cha Prue Marma, senior health education officer at the Civil Surgeon's Office in Cox's Bazar, said compared to other places, people in the three upazilas covered by JICA's project have shown greater awareness of NCDs.