Effective aid: Improving the Quality and Sustainability of NGOs in Bangladesh

Bangladesh is among the most densely populated and poorest nations in the world, and increasing family planning and improving health are important to alleviating poverty. The Government of Bangladesh has a wide network of health care facilities, but inadequate coverage excludes large sectors of the population. NGOs can play an important role in assisting the government to fill gaps in health coverage. However, many NGOs have limited financial sustainability and are dependent on donor funds to operate. Chemonics International has initiated creating an independent health franchise system; building on an existing national network of clinics run by local NGOs in Bangladesh called The Smiling Sun Franchise Program (SSFP). The project aims to expand the availability of sustainable NGO providing health services and products and to support the Government of Bangladesh in achieving its health targets. To do this, Chemonics works with a network including 28 NGOs, 320 static clinics, 8500 satellite clinics, and 6000 community service providers in 61 districts reaching 22 million people, to streamline healthcare delivery by improving their information and communications technology (ICT). The health franchise system aims to improve the quality and quantity of service delivery in family planning and reproductive health (FP/RH), maternal and child health, and tuberculosis by providing in-service training and implementing network-wide educational and promotional campaigns. SSFP uses a build-operate –transfer methodology to create a health franchise organization that initially will be managed by project staff, but privately managed by the end of the project.