On February 27 and 28, 2024, two groups of community healthcare workers (CHWs) in the Bandar Upazila of Narayanganj received a day-long training in palliative care. The training course was held at the conference rooms of the Upazila Family Planning Office and the Bandar Upazila Health Complex, respectively.
This training course was part of the “Compassionate Narayanganj” project, which was coordinated by AYAT Education. In order to provide patients with long-term, incurable conditions with painless and secure end-of-life care, 75 healthcare personnel from Bandar Upazila have undergone several phases of patient care training. After that, 35 trainees from the Family Planning Department and 38 trainees from the Upazila Health Department took part in this program.
The Resident Medical Officer (RMO) Dr. Md. Mostafizur Rahman of Upazila Health Complex, Project Coordinator of AYAT Education Sumit Banik, Field Officer of Compassionate Narayanganj Project Md. Hasan Hafizur Rahman was present as facilitator on the first day of training. On the 2nd day, the Medical Officer of the Family Planning Department Dr. Farhana Akhter, Medical Officer of the Palliative Medicine Department of BSMMU Dr. Md. Abu Taher.
At the end of the 1st day of training, Upazila Health and Family Planning Officer Dr. Dr. Belayet Hossain presided over the session, and Narayanganj civil surgeon Dr. AFM Mushiur Rahman was present as the chief guest.
In his speech, the Civil Surgeon said that `mental-social-spiritual health care of terminally ill patients and their families is very important. In our country, this issue is not given much importance. However, the demand for palliative care is increasing day by day in the developed world. Many are even choosing palliative care as a career. And in the context of our country, death notifications usually come from the community level, so a community healthcare worker has many responsibilities. Along with that, the people of the community should be made aware of the importance of palliative care.’
Dr. Md. Belayet Hossain said, our actions should be more accountable. The work we are doing, from the field level, we need to know whether the patients are coming to the service center, if not, then we need to find out the proper reason why they are not coming.
In the closing phase of the 2nd day of training, Upazila Family Planning Officer Sadananda Roy presided over the session, Deputy Director of Narayanganj Family Planning Department Swapan Kumar Sharma was present as the chief guest, Director Program of AYAT Education Laila Karim was present as a special guest.
The Deputy Director, of Family Planning said in his speech, “Our responsibility does not end by taking training, but taking training means taking a step to sharpen yourself. Also, the training materials should be stored carefully, because when confusion arises in the mind, you have to study materials and keep yourself updated. Besides, there is no alternative to your active role in making this program successful.
AYAT Education Project Coordinator Sumit Banik said in his speech, “Community Health Workers (CHWs) play a vital role in Bangladesh’s health development, particularly in bridging the gap between communities and formal healthcare systems. CHWs act as a bridge, referring individuals needing further medical attention to health facilities. We wish that Community Health Workers will be symbols of accessibility and compassion in palliative care and overall health development.”
It should be noted that the main objective of this three-year pilot project titled ‘Compassionate Narayanganj’ is to integrate palliative care into the primary health care system. The ‘Compassionate Narayanganj’ project is working tirelessly with the support of Narayanganj City Corporation to provide palliative care to terminally ill patients in city health centers and Bandar Upazila Health Complex. The project partners are Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU), AYAT Education, Worldwide Hospice Palliative Care Alliance (WHPCA), and St. Christopher’s Hospice (UK).
AYAT Education Assistant Field Officer Sarwar Alam, Community Mobilizer Ananna Rahman, and Fahim Hossain were in charge of coordinating the two trainings.
