On October 20, the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) inaugurated a boat clinic in Bangladesh to provide healthcare services for underserved villagers living along the country’s coastal areas of the Dakop sub-district. 
Dr. Myun Ju Lee, president of the Bangladesh Adventist Union Mission (BAUM) and ADRA board member in Bangladesh, shared his thoughts about the boat clinic while visiting the Avail and Access Medication project office. He was joined in attendance by fellow members of the Bangladesh board for ADRA. 

“I appreciate ADRA’s efforts to serve underprivileged people in the remote area,” says Dr. Lee. “I also admire ADRA’s approach for launching the boat clinic and implementing ‘an innovative’ services for the community.”

The boat clinic will have trained and certified medical personnel to provide immediate basic treatment and provide access to specialized doctors. Services offered will be charged a fee depending on the treatment.

“Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, people weren’t able to leave their community due to travel restrictions and had little to no access to medication and healthcare services,” says ADRA’s Programs Director in Bangladesh Lucille Sircar. “Since ADRA has inaugurated the boat clinic, people can have access to healthcare services at their door. It saves a lot of money and time as people don’t need to travel to visit doctors and get medication.”

The boat clinic aims to reach nearly 48,800 people in the coastal belt within the project period, where people are deprived of medication and health services.

“The Boat Clinic has appeared before us as a blessing of God. This will help and save lives in our locality as we don’t get proper medical support. We have to go to the town for visiting a doctor which takes a lot of time and costs a lot of money,” says Aporna Kobiraj, a 35-year-old housewife.

“ADRA’s end goal is to partner with community-based organizations like women-led groups, the Upazila Health Complex, local pharmacies, etc. who will take care of different parts of the clinic and carry-on the services of the clinic,” says Sircar. 

Among the services offered in the region, ADRA also had been offering short-term food assistance for roughly 600 people in Dakop who are most marginalized.

About ADRA

The Adventist Development and Relief Agency is the international humanitarian arm of the Seventh-day Adventist Church serving in 118 countries. Its work empowers communities and changes lives around the globe by providing sustainable community development and disaster relief. ADRA’s purpose is to serve humanity so all may live as God intended. For more information, visit ADRA.org.