Our Impact

5

countries reached with health programmes

12K

people in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh with access to clean water

50K

community health workers delivering last-mile care

33%

reduction in infant mortality in Uganda

BRAC’s network of community health workers has reached millions of people with critical health services.

For decades, BRAC’s groundbreaking model of community-based health care has brought lifesaving health services and information directly to the doorsteps of the people living in poverty. Smart investments in health care have a profound impact on individual lives, particularly for mothers and children, and yield long-term social and economic benefits for society as a whole.

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Our Approach

Community-based care

At the heart of BRAC’s health programmes are trained and dedicated community health workers who deliver critical care door to door. Women are trained to provide basic preventative and curative care in their communities and to diagnose and refer patients with complications. They focus on maternal and child health, family planning, nutrition promotion, infectious disease prevention, and more, and earn a modest income from the sale of basic health goods.

Community-based care

mother and child care

Sexual and reproductive health

Through its community health workers and youth empowerment clubs, BRAC provides critical information and services to women of childbearing age. Services include sexual and reproductive health education, distribution of condoms and oral contraceptives, referrals to health facilities for long-acting, reversible contraception, and nutrition for pregnant mothers.

Sexual and reproductive health

three community health workers

Non-communicable diseases

As countries develop, non-communicable diseases, such as diabetes and hypertension, are on the rise. These chronic diseases, and their complications, have the potential to overwhelm under-resourced health systems. To combat this, BRAC is screening for and treating diabetes and hypertension in Bangladesh and promoting healthy lifestyles to prevent these diseases.

Non-communicable diseases

community health worker caring for a sick man.

Water, sanitation, and hygiene

Access to water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) is critical to public health. BRAC’s WASH services increase access to safe water, provide sanitary latrines and toilets, and engage communities to encourage positive behavior change and reduce the spread of preventable diseases. Through a community-based approach, BRAC sets up village WASH committees, training community members as leaders that assess, improve, and maintain WASH infrastructure and practices in their villages.

Water, sanitation, and hygiene

kids washing at a water station

Digital health innovation

Digital health platforms have the potential to improve the delivery of care and save lives. In Uganda, BRAC’s community workers have used an innovative mobile health platform since 2017, seeking to leverage insights from the digital tool to drive innovation in the coverage, quality, speed, and equity of health service delivery. Over the past two years, BRAC has used data from nearly 500,000 households to improve how community health workers provide care to pregnant women, follow up with newborn babies, and treat malaria, diarrhea, and pneumonia among young children.

Digital health innovation

digital health app
My country, Bangladesh, has seen a health revolution in my lifetime. Maternal mortality has decreased by 75 percent since 1980, infant mortality has more than halved since 1990. Such rapid changes have almost no historical precedent.”
Sir Fazle Hasan Abed, Founder of BRAC
For more details on our health programmes, download our fact sheet.

Where we work

Afghanistan

Founded in 2002, Afghanistan was BRAC’s first country of operation outside of Bangladesh. We now reach communities across 14 provinces with a focus on services for girls and women, who are particularly vulnerable amid conflict.

Afghanistan

Drawing blood and combatting malaria.

Bangladesh

BRAC was founded in Bangladesh in 1972 and remains headquartered in Dhaka today. Our first and largest country of operation, BRAC runs a comprehensive suite of programmes in nearly every corner of the country.

Bangladesh

At home visit from a community health worker in Bangaldesh.

Liberia

More than half of Liberia’s population lives below the poverty line, the largest proportion of any country where BRAC works. We launched operations in Liberia in 2008 with a goal of tackling the challenge holistically.

Liberia

Home visit to inform family of COVID-19.

Sierra Leone

BRAC began its work in Sierra Leone in 2008. In a context with high rates of poverty and unemployment, particularly among youth, BRAC’s holistic portfolio of programmes work to support communities to lift themselves out of poverty.

Sierra Leone

Pharmacy

Uganda

BRAC expanded to Uganda in 2006, and the country has quickly become home to our largest operation outside of Bangladesh. In a country with one of the youngest populations in the world, BRAC’s work across sectors emphasises reaching young people.

Uganda

Eye screening

Programme Highlights

World NTD Day: Deworming out-of-school children is more vital than ever

Intestinal worms are the most common infectious disease in the world, with more than a billion children worldwide at risk. School-based deworming programmes are low cost and highly effective at improving children’s health, increasing their educational attainment, and even boosting their income years down the line. But more than 40 million children have been affected by COVID-19 school closures in Bangladesh, disrupting a vital avenue for deworming.

Our work in action

Saving lives at the last mile

BRAC’s cadre of community health workers in Uganda is among the largest in the country. Meet Ruth, a community health worker delivering critical care to mothers and children in her community.

Our most critical programmes for vulnerable families around the world depend on the generosity of people like you.