Big role for women

In 2010, The Urban Partnership for Poverty Reduction project began, funded by UN Development Program and British overseas aid. According to BBC, there are roughly 2,500 community development committees, mostly led by women. More than 800,000  households have joined these communities and more than 90% households report being satisfied with improvements such as, accessing water sources, toilets and other health care services.

This study shows that, home births in Korail are down to 11% of deliveries, and Bangladesh is on track to meet the Millennium Development Goal on maternal mortality. Kazi Morshed of the UNDP has no doubt that the experiment has been a success, and hopes that it can be replicated beyond Bangladesh.

Find out more: The Dhaka slum being transformed by women, by BBC.