A country-wide assessment programme has been launched to understand the Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) accessibility of persons with disabilities and the elderly.
icddr,b, in collaboration with Bangladesh Society for the Change and Advocacy Nexus (B-SCAN), launched the new initiative at a city hotel on Tuesday.
The population-based cross-sectional study will be conducted across all the eight administrative divisions of Bangladesh (from November 2022 to September 2023) to draw a nationally representative sample.
A household-based screening will be conducted in selected areas to identify persons with disabilities, and a detailed survey will be carried out, including spot-checking their WASH and MHM services, with at least 656 people with disabilities and an equal number of people without disabilities (matched for gender and age).
This study will help in identifying the challenges faced by persons with disabilities, older people, and their caregivers, especially during Covid-19, and compare it to people without disabilities, and younger people focusing on WASH, MHM, and healthcare access.
The study will also explore the diversity of the challenges based on disability type, socioeconomic status, age, and gender, and will generate recommendations to make evidence-based decisions at both the intervention and policy levels to improve the lives of persons with disabilities, and older people.
Md Ashraf Ali Khan Khasru, state minister, Ministry of Social Welfare, addressed the seminar as Chief Guest. Shibani Bhattacharjee, additional secretary (Institutions and Disabilities), Ministry of Social Welfare attended as Special Guest.
The meeting was presided over by Dr Md. Mahbubur Rahman, Lead and Project Coordinator, Environmental Interventions Unit (EIU), Infectious Diseases Division (IDD), icddr,b.
Md. Ashraf Ali Khan Khasru, said, “The Government of Bangladesh is taking many initiatives for the betterment of the lives of people with disabilities, we always encourage this type of research. The more we work at the field level, the better we will understand the real scenario faced by persons with disabilities.”
In her speech, Shibani Bhattacharjee, said “Person with disabilities face many challenges, and this type of research is required to understand their condition. I hope the research findings will help us improve the lives of person with disabilities in Bangladesh.”
