‘Shushasther Odhikar Shobar- Better health right for all’
With the mission of ensuring and innovating access to public health across Bangladesh, Footsteps launched the health programme "Shushasther Odhikar Shobar- Better health right for all" back in 2020.
This health programme was initiated out of the necessity of mitigating the global health crisis at the peak of the pandemic. Now, it is actively working on five components of various health initiatives in last-mile communities across Bangladesh, impacting 4,701 people to date.
The Shushasther Odhikar Shobar (SOS) Program works on solutions for the general population, focusing on the health of women and children. The programme works on innovation, both on strategic and technical grounds, making healthcare facilities easily accessible in hard-to-reach areas. In the beginning, SOS was initiated to minimise the health hazard during the pandemic. Channelling the services properly to the targeted beneficiaries and addressing each segment of public health that is lagging behind is now the milestone for the programme. All the components now come together to uphold the SOS hub as a belief in accessing better health for all.
Professor Rubin Harvey from Penn State University, founder of Energize the Chain (ETC), delegated ETC Bangladesh to collaborate with Footsteps to strengthen the cold vaccine chain in Bangladesh. This is how the journey of SOS began, and now it is a fully-rounded programme.
The SOS Medical Box and Women Capacity building on First-Aid has ensured primary health security for 916 households in Kushtia and Rangamati, and also helped train 24 women.
The programme also helped to promote Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights (SRHR) through workshops and consultation with SOS Bijoya—an eco-friendly reusable sanitary pad for menstrual hygiene management (MHM). This helped ensure knowledge on MHM, while also providing 100 adolescent girls with kits to have safe menstruation.
At present, ETC is planning to establish two cell towers, one of which will be a solar-powered vaccine and medical supplies' storage, which will be deployed in Satkhira this month. As a result, it is estimated to strengthen the healthcare supply chain and support 1,000 people every month.
With primary health safety in mind, the SOS Hub will be introduced in association with the local government. This will build a long-term relationship between Footsteps and beneficiaries.
Under The leadership of Shah Rafayat Chowdhury, founder, and president of Footsteps, the SOS programme is monitored and implemented by a specialised team coordinated by Project Coordinator Mehenaz Zaman, field officers, changemakers with a medical background, and public health professionals who will add value to the impact of the overall program.
Footsteps Bangladesh is a next-generation development organisation that empowers communities to tackle community-specific problems through effective self-sustaining initiatives.
Currently, Footsteps has six main social ventures impacting over 315,247 people, across 30 districts, in Bangladesh. For its tremendous work and remarkable impacts, so far, the team has been recognised nationally and internationally with the prestigious Forbes 30 under 30 Asia 2022 (Social Impact category), Diana Award (2020), AFS. Prize for Young Global Citizens (2020) and the Joy Bangla Youth Award (2020).