Facts and Figures

Bangladesh is located in southern Asia along the Bay of Bengal, sharing borders with India to the west, north and east and with Myanmar to the south east. The land area is 147,570 square kilometres and the climate is tropical monsoon with high rainfall and cyclones from May to October.

Bangladesh is one of the lowest lying countries in the world with a network of rivers that criss-cross the country and form part of a huge delta incorporating the Ganges and the Brahmaputra. This river network results in the land being frequently flooded (23 million people were left homeless by flooding in 1998) but the positive effect is that the soil fertility is regularly renewed and the country is able to produce up to three rice crops a year.

People

Bangladesh is one of the most densely populated countries on earth and has a population of more than 146 million people.

Around 75% of the population live in rural areas although much of the population growth in recent years has been in urban areas. Overall, the population growth rate has declined over the past decade from 2.2 % in 1991 to 1.5 % in 2001.

The majority of Bangladeshi people are Sunni Muslims (88 %) and Islam is the state religion.  Bengali is the official language but English is also widely used. 

Politics and the Economy

Bangladesh gained independence from Pakistan in 1971. The country suffered two decades of political turmoil, coups and counter-coups until popular resistance led to the introduction of a democratic parliamentary system in 1991. 

Since then, the government has changed hands through several democratic elections and currently there is a caretaker government in power with elections proposed to be held in 2008.

Half of the country’s population lives below the poverty line and in 2004 the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) was just $1,870 per capita.

The economy of Bangladesh has developed over the past decade as a result of improved management and increasing private sector investment. Despite its growth, particularly in the garment manufacturing industry, the economy remains mostly agricultural.  Agriculture contributes around 23% of GDP and employs over 60% of the labour force. 

Administratively, Bangladesh is divided into six divisions, which are further divided into smaller administrative areas including districts, sub-districts and villages.  

Dhaka city, the capital of Bangladesh, is located on the delta towards the central south east of Bangladesh and has a population of 9.9 million people living within just 1,416 square kilometres. 

The work of The Fred Hollows Foundation in Bangladesh is conducted in a number of districts in Bangladesh. Eye care activities undertaken by Grameen Kalyan are based in the district of Tangail, and also extends to neighbouring districts. The pilot project being implemented in partnership between The Fondation and National Institute of Ophthalmology is located in Brahmanbaria (East) and Satkhira Districts (South West).

Sources: Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, DFAT, Human Development Report 2006, United Nations Statistics Division

Population: 146 million
Life expectancy:  63.3 years
Infant mortality rate: 56 per 1,000 births 
Percentage of population which is undernourished: 30%
Number of doctors: 26 per 100,000 people

The people of Bangladesh have experienced sound improvements in their overall health over the past decade.  Despite these improvements, the health situation of the Bangladeshi people remains poor by world standards and is exacerbated by widespread poverty. 

Nearly one third of the population is malnourished with very little improvement over the past decade.  

Malnutrition is a major cause of death, associated with around two-thirds of death of children aged under five. Around half of all children are underweight and a similar proportion have stunted growth. 
 
The communicable diseases of malaria, tuberculosis and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) remain significant health issues despite efforts in disease prevention and control.

The availability and access to health services in Bangladesh is poor and less than 40% of the population receives primary health care.   According to the World Health Organization, in 2000 there were just 29,746 doctors in Bangladesh or just one doctor per 4,521 people.  (Reference:  Country Health Profile, Bangladesh, WHO Regional office for south-east asia, w3.whosea.org)   In 2003, total expenditure on health was just 1.1% of GDP.

The government has made efforts to improve the health system by implementing initiatives such as the Primary Health Care approach, adopted by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare in 1988. Due to limited government funds, the Primary Health Care system covers just 12 areas, reaching 48 million people which is less than 40% of the population. 

Sources: Human Development Report 2006, UNDP, World Health Organization

Number of blind people: 750,000
Main causes of blindness: Cataract (80%), refractive error, macular degeneration, uncorrected aphakia
Number of people with cataract blindness: 650,000 backlog of cases and an annual incidence of 130,000 cases
Number of cataract operations performed annually: 120,000
Number of ophthalmologists: 626
Reasons for low cataract surgical rates and backlog: Lack of trained eye health personnel and public awareness
Childhood blindness rate: Approximately 40,000 children are blind of which 12,000 cases are due to cataract

Most cases of blindness are treatable or avoidable, however in Bangladesh many people do not receive eye care due to barriers in accessing eye health services.

Blindness in Bangladesh is more prevalent among woman, the elderly, the illiterate and the poor. Many people unnecessarily become and remain blind due to extreme poverty and lack of awareness that cataract blindness is preventable.

The majority of Bangladesh’s eye care facilities are based in major cities despite the fact that over 75% of the population live in rural areas. Health services in rural areas of Bangladesh are very limited and rarely have the capacity, skills or equipment to diagnose or treat eye health issues. Therefore people living in rural areas must travel long distances to access eye care services, however many people are unaware of or unable to travel to services

Eye care facilities in Bangladesh are often unable to meet the service demand due to lack of trained eye care personnel as well as inadequate equipment and supplies. Across the country, primarily in major cities, there are:
-    626 ophthalmologists, which is less than half required to meet Vision 2020 standards
-    618 Mid Level Eye Care Personnel, which is a quarter of the required number to meet Vision 2020 standards
-    There are very limited numbers of primary health workers (at the village level) trained in primary eye care skills, however according to Vision 2020 there needs to be approximately 26,000 to meet the needs of Bangladesh’s population.

The Government of Bangladesh and NGOs are working to increase the extent and quality of eye care services across the country. National eye health care developments have been supported by International NGOs in Bangladesh working collaboratively to promote blindness prevention plans and activities.

The Bangladesh National Vision 2020 program was launched in November 2000, signaling the country’s commitment to accelerate programs to help control preventable blindness. At that time, Dr Hardjotanojo, the World Health Organisation representative to Bangladesh, said that preventable blindness costs Bangladesh $480 million in care and treatment hours, whereas the cost of prevention is a mere fraction of this.

A National Eye Care Plan has been developed and was adopted in 2005. This Plan documents how Bangladesh will work to eliminate avoidable blindness from the country by the year 2020 in line with the Vision 2020 Global Campaign.