In Bangladesh, the land of the thousand rivers, the majority of the population lives on less then 1 $ a day. Among this population, the char dwellers are the poorest of the poor. They live on isolated islands, on unstable water-locked chars and the nearest access to healthcare and land hospitals are located 4 hours away. In order to provide help, Friendship International, an NGO based in Bangladesh has implemented a system of floating hospitals, satellite clinics and community medics. Community medics are women, who are trained and equipped to address primary level healthcare.

In cooperation with Friendship Luxembourg, the Mangrove Foundation is supporting these women (usually housewives, single mothers) through extensive training in primary healthcare and as mediators between the chars and the satellite teams.

The training covers the following aspects:

• Implementation of disease prevention and healthcare services
• Identifying referrals and patients
• Providing house-to-house service