Media

This study features Dr Tanjir Rashid Soron, a clinical psychiatrist, researcher and entrepreneur who completed a Master’s degree in Global eHealth at the University of Edinburgh in 2019 as a Commonwealth Distance Learning Scholar. The education provided by the University of Edinburgh was essential to Tanjir, and it contributed towards filling the skills gap in eHealth in Bangladesh; to Tanjir’s knowledge, he is the only person in the country holding a Master’s degree in eHealth. Tanjir was determined to use his skills to address the fundamental inequalities in healthcare provision in Bangladesh. He recognised that mental healthcare in particular was inaccessible for the majority of Bangladesh’s rural poor, where geographical and financial constraints acted as barriers to care. Tanjir believed that it was possible to address these challenges through the implementation of digital technologies. This promoted him to seek out opportunities for further study in this field.

Kalbela reported on the remarkable success of the TRANSFORM project, highlighting a fivefold increase in mental health treatment among slum dwellers in Dhaka. The report featured real-life stories from the Karail slum, demonstrating how increased awareness and proper referral pathways have transformed attitudes toward mental illness.

‘ট্রান্সফর্মিং এক্সেস টু কেয়ার ফর সিরিয়াস মেন্টাল ডিসঅর্ডারস ইন স্লামস’- দ্যা ট্রান্সফর্ম বাংলাদেশ প্রকল্পের আওতায় টেলিসাইকিয়াট্রি রিসার্চ ইনোভেশন নেটওয়ার্ক লিমিটেডের আয়োজনে রাজধানীর কড়াইল বস্তির কমিউনিটি স্বাস্থ্যকর্মী এবং ওষুধ বিক্রেতাদের নিয়ে তিন দিনব্যাপী প্রশিক্ষণ কার্যক্রম শেষ হয়েছে।