Available data shows that widespread efforts to address these early supply- and demand-side challenges had an effect, at least in the public sector: starting in June 2020, key indicators began to recover from these initial disruptions. A strong enabling environment – including a strong community health system and existing networks for collaboration – and a catalog of adaptable strategies for boosting EBI coverage helped officials and health care providers respond to the first months of the COVID-19 pandemic while also mitigating disruptions to key child health interventions.
COVID-19 response in Bangladesh
According to interviews with key informants (KIs), Bangladesh’s early response to COVID-19 helped mitigate the impact of the pandemic and kept a surge of infections from overwhelming the health care system. As a result, by August 2020, the system could recover and maintain delivery of essential child health services in this emergency context.
- Early in 2020, global shortages and supply-chain issues made it difficult to locate sufficient PPE for health workers; but as time passed, officials were able to provide an adequate supply of protective equipment. They also supported the widespread use of infection prevention control (IPC) measures, contact tracing, and isolation training. The Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) also provided online training on these topics to providers and managers.
- Government officials made funds available for COVID-19 response, set up separate COVID-19 treatment centers, and allocated special teams of doctors and nurses for pandemic response. Task-shifting likewise increased the emergency availability of health care workers.
- Rapid antigen tests became available at lower levels of the health system, facilitating patient triage.
“Overall, at the beginning we had inadequate equipment and we panicked. Slowly we overcame the situation. On behalf of the government, gradually we have been able to provide adequate supplies of personal protective equipment and service. Service providers did not suffer from any problems such that they could not provide services.”
KI
Most of the strategies Bangladesh implemented to prevent or respond to COVID-related drops in EBI coverage were already in place before the pandemic and were adapted to suit their new context. We categorized these interventions into three main categories: infrastructure, policy/leadership, and human resources for health. More detail on these is below: