The Challenge

22 million Bangladeshi live under the poverty line. Specially in the rural areas, access to healthcare is a huge challenge. Women face barriers such as location, financial burden, bureaucratic responses as patient, proper access to transportation resulting in“lengthening response time” and male providers.

In this video SAMC's Managing Director Dr. Aysu Rahman visited the clinic as a patient and showed us how it is to be a patient with SAMC.

Our Response

We provide primary care to women and children of Chondipur and the neighboring villages. These services are provided by female medical professionals. This includes patients with symptoms such as fever, pain, common cold, sore muscles, digestive issues, and menstrual issues. Care for pregnant women and new mothers is also provided by female medical professionals at the clinic. Medications prescribed as needed are also covered by the initial visit fee, which is a nominal fee of 5 BDT (equivalent to less than five cents in USD).

Patients requiring secondary or tertiary care that is not available at the clinic will have to travel to the nearest hospital over 10 miles away. These ten miles may not seem long, but the journey is. There is only one main road connecting the village to the nearest hospital, and patients often have to spend extra money on public transportation (which are expensive and scarce in the remote areas). Patients also have to spend a minimum of twice the fees SAMC charges to see a doctor, and spend extra on any prescribed medication which would be included in their visit fee at our clinic.