Dhaka is home to an estimated 3.5 million slum dwellers, almost all of whom lack official forms of identification. Unreliable patient ID is a huge obstacle to the delivery of healthcare services by frontline workers, proving especially life-threatening for pregnant mothers who cannot access continuous antenatal care throughout the duration of their pregnancy.
Weaving through bustling Dhaka slums, BRAC’s Shasthya Kormis deliver lifesaving services to over 6.9 million patients who may otherwise be lost to health services. Partnering with BRAC’s urban health programme in 2016, we are ensuring Shasthya Kormis are reaching expectant mothers in time to detect, prevent, and treat potential health issues before they become dangerous complications.
“I thought it would be difficult but it is small and convenient...It gives more legitimacy to our work, the beneficiary says, ‘you know so much’!”
BRAC Shasthya Kormi
A longitudinal study in Bangladesh funded by USAID, DFID, and Gates Foundation has shown that the deployment of Simprints in the pilot stage increased maternal healthcare coverage by 38% compared to the control group.
Awarded $2 million by Saving Lives at Birth, Simprints and BRAC is scaling up to reach 1 million mothers and children with critical maternal, newborn, and child healthcare services by 2021.