Developing urban health systems in Bangladesh

The article looks at the challenges and strategies of a partnership for health that was formed in 1998 in Saidpur and Parbatipur municipalities in Northern Bangladesh. Under the Child Survival Programme (CSP), a partnership was formed between Concern, 2 municipal authorities and 24 ward health committees. The overall goal of the CSP is to reduce maternal and child mortality and morbidity, and increase child survival by developing a sustainable municipal health service. The article looks at issues of partnership, and how a meaningful partnership was a difficult achievement in this case and had to be reconstructed after initial failures. The authors describe processes used to assess the capacities of the partners, to design the programme, and the overall achievements of the CSP. The article concludes by outlining future challenges, lessons learnt and implications for building sustainable health-promoting partnerships in development.