Health & Disease Research Center for Rural Peoples
Aims to address the gap of healthcare system by conducting research to inform policy and improve healthcare for rural communities.
Health Awareness & Education
Medical Research
Laboratory Diagnostic
Medical Consultation
Background of HDRCRP
million population
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hospital beds
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physicians per 10,000 people
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Although South Asia has a quarter of the world's population, it has a very poor public health care system and a staggering disease burden.
For instance, Bangladesh, with a population of about 164.4 million, has only 51,648 hospital beds, with 3 physicians per 10,000 people. Health research, which is critical for and forms the backbone of evidence-based medicine, in general, is in a terrible state in Bangladesh. As a result, like most poor countries, Bangladesh lacks evidence-based policies and has limited social accountability.
Although investment in infrastructure for health research has somewhat increased over the past decade, serious key knowledge gaps remain, which are important for significantly reducing key health problems, such as communicable diseases, maternal and prenatal conditions, childhood diseases, non-communicable diseases, and nutritional deficiencies. This is especially true for rural Bangladesh, where the poorest of the poor reside.
The Global Forum for Health Research emphasizes the need to strengthen research capacity in developing countries in order to redress the "10/90" gap—that is, only 10% of all global health research funding was allocated to 90% of the world's preventable mortalities. As is true in most poor countries, inadequate funding is the main barrier to health research. Despite the enormous disease burden in South Asia, research is often viewed as expenditure rather than an investment. Development of programs aimed at changing such attitudes, especially with policy makers and funders, would greatly improve the overall health system. Thus, the goal of establishing and developing Health and Disease Research Center for Rural Peoples is to perform essential research and generate data in key health areas affecting the community with the ultimate goal of informing and influencing policy formulation.