To read more about my last trip to Bangladesh, and the field study (MFS) - see previous blog posts (2013).
Around 20 million people in rural Bangladesh drink water contaminated with high levels of Arsenic. An estimated 43 000 people die each year from Arsenic-related illnesses in Bangladesh (Human Rights Watch, 2016). A slow mass poisoning has been faced by rural Bangladesh for a long time, but still nothing seems to be done about it.
Together with my friend Dr. Kader Abdul and his wonderful team at the biotech company, Viola Vitalis, I am happy to finally establish a health care project (arsenic mitigation program) in Koyla (one of the arsenic acute villages I visited during my field work in 2013).
Being afflicted with Arsenicosis (the disease of arsenic poisoning) is strongly correlated with malnutrition (and poverty). By providing innovative and high quality nutraceuticals (a nutrient based health care) to strengthen the immune system and remove arsenic from the body, we hope that we can mitigate and combat the effects of Arsenicosis. For the treatment to be successful it is of course crucial that the people stop drinking arsenic contaminated water. In this small scale project (of 4 month) where 200 arsenic afflicted people are enrolled, we provide safe potable water in jars (19 liter). This is of course not sustainable in the long run. In order to reach out to more people and villages, the challenge of accessing safe and arsenic free water has to be solved more thoroughly. We therefore call for a more vigorous action on a national level by the support of the Bangladeshi government, as well as international aid organisations and investors/sponsors.
At the moment we are in Dhaka to meet people at different national instances (e.g. the Ministry of Health and Dhaka University) that can contribute to steps towards a solution. I am happy that Kader has such a great network of influential people at ministry level, which of course open up the gates to having these meetings. The people we have met so far are very nice and they seem positive, but words are one thing, action another.
Do you have any viewpoints? Comments? Advice? I would be very glad to hear from you :)
At the moment we are in Dhaka to meet people at different national instances (e.g. the Ministry of Health and Dhaka University) that can contribute to steps towards a solution. I am happy that Kader has such a great network of influential people at ministry level, which of course open up the gates to having these meetings. The people we have met so far are very nice and they seem positive, but words are one thing, action another.
Do you have any viewpoints? Comments? Advice? I would be very glad to hear from you :)
E-mail me at: louiseandersson0511@gmail.com
Human Rights Watch Report, 2016: https://www.hrw.org/news/2016/04/06/bangladesh-20-million-drink-arsenic-laced-water
People of Koyla :)
Severe skin leisure caused by arsenic
(www.violavitalis.org)
