Lutheran Health Care Bangladesh runs a project in the name of "Sustainable programs for Health and Livelihood (SPHL)" operating in communities of Dumki and surrounding Upazilas of Patuakhali District since January 2017. The first phase of the project ended in December 2019. The second phase of the project started in January 2023 and ended in June 2023. The organizasation presently submitted the third phase period July 2023 to December 2025 waiting for approval in NGO AB.    

LHCB has been implementing activities of this project in partnership with Lutheran Health Care – USA (LHCB-USA) in Minnesota and the Global Mission unit of the Evangelical Lutheran Church at Illinois in America (ELCA).

Project Goal :

"Ensure equal access for all women and men to affordable and quality health service; and increase knowledge, awareness and capacities required to achieve sustainable development."

Objectives :

1. Ensure the delivery of preventive, promotive, and curative health services for men, women, infant, children, pregnant mothers and others from unreached, discriminated and disadvantaged communities.

2. Increase awareness on health, nutrition, hygiene and to reduce treatment cost to live a healthy and sustainable lifestyle; extending focus on poorest.

3. Community and vulnerable people enjoy sustainable livelihood, peace and equity and resilient to disasters.

Project Components :

The original mission of LHCB is to address the health and other issues of the poor particularly women and children. Initially, to carry out the mission of LHCB the project started small clinic at Dumki in 1995. Then it was realized that to increase the social status of the poor particularly the rural women they should be empowered. So, LHCB undertakes program for the empowerment of rural women in Patuakhali district.

Therefore, as per designed five year plan, of this LHCB project, the following major programs will be implemented in lights of the organizational goal and objectives.

• Health Care Services (Curative & Preventive)

• Social Mobilization and Empowerment

• Children Education and Cultural Promotion

• Disaster Risk Reduction and Emergency Response

There is a 10 bed hospital and two Health and Community Development Centers at Dumki and surrounding Upazilas of Patuakhali District to run its activities smoothly and effectively. Income generating and awareness activities are also most significant activities of this project operating from the Hospital to different communities of Dumki, Baufal and Patuakhali Sadar Upazilas.

Project Approach :

Participatory approach will be followed in all stages of the implementation process of the project. The project keeps appropriate provisions to involve different level stakeholders from designing of the project to project ending evaluation. All categories of beneficiaries will be considered as key stakeholders who are the prime players to bring their own changes. The project has planned to involve them in baseline survey, planning, implementing, monitoring and evaluation process.

Local communities, education institutions, opinion leaders and community based organization (CBO) will be facilitating agencies and as stewards. They will extend their support to resolve problems from the most nearest level of target people as and when required. Public representatives, local government authorities, law enforcing agencies will be involved as local level mediators when required and continued supports will be taken through rapports building and coordinating efforts.

Program Sustainability :

The direct participants of the project who will be conversant with the activities of the project (like common diseases people suffer from and their treatments, development service centers etc.) will ultimately be the resource people at the field level to motivate others and thus the sustainability of the project can be assured to a great extent. Moreover, LHCB will focus on four areas of sustainability as stated below;

A. Financial Sustainability:

LHCB will search and promote sources of income from its service delivery centers and will achieve fifty five percent sustainability through cost recovery process during the lifetime of the project.

B. Program Sustainability:

Ensure community participation, fulfill their needs and empower community people towards their ownership. Community people will be empowered to participate in planning, decisions making, monitoring, activities implementation and evaluation process. Skilled Birth Attendants and selective farmers will be trained and made capable to work independently. People will be integrated eventually with government facilities and services through awareness raising interventions, dialogues and coordination efforts. People will be empowered about their basic rights and with strengthened leaderships to play individuals and groups roles to achieve their required needs.

C. Institutional Sustainability:

Health and Development Service Centers gradually will be expanded in 06 unions of Dumki, Bauphal, Patuakhali Sadar and Mirzagonj Upazilas of Patuakhali district will be established in views of delivering services and forming Community Based Organizations (CBOs) for attaining their sustainability. Small groups at wards level will form CBOs in targeted unions and eventually CBOs will gain experiences to run health and development centers independently.

D. Environmental Sustainability:

People will make aware to keep their environment clean and safe through involving them in tree plantation programs, introducing them with improved stoves to reduce fuel consumption and carbon emission. Thus people’s attitude will be changed to control environmental hazards and pollutions.