Our colleague Prof. Hasnat Alamgir has written several editorials about important health care system issues in Bangladesh. In his latest piece, he describes how needs of elderly people are not being met due to social and demographic changes. Although there is a growing population of older adults, more female relatives now work outside the home and low-wage domestic helpers are less available. At the same time, Alamgir writes, social, religious, and family value systems discourage children from sending their parents to residential care facilities. He proposes adult daycare as a culturally appropriate option. This is also compatible with home support services, something that BHP volunteers have supported at the Sajida Foundation. In other columns for Financial Express, Prof. Alamgir has written about food safety, patient satisfaction, health outcome measures, and occupational health with a special focus on garment factory workers.

BHP’s long-time sponsor, Mid Main Community Health Centre, moved into a brand-new purpose-built clinic this month. The new premises are close to Mid-Main’s former home on Main Street in Vancouver. That building was satisfactory but near the end of its life and certainly not ideal for working under Covid conditions. Mid-Main’s Executive Director Irene Clarence led the entire CHC team through a planning process with the architects so the new space is designed around patients’ needs. “After two years of planning,” Irene says, “We are thrilled to have a new home that is so well-suited to the community health centre model of care.”