Dhaka!

I’m in Dhaka, Bangladesh. My first trip to South Asia, I was experiencing more culture shock. But from the beginning the town reminded me of Nairobi: lots of buildings, terrible traffic, and crowds of people. Except the traffic is worse here than I have ever experienced. My hotel is 7 kilometers from City Hall, where we have our meetings, and it takes us an hour and a half to get there and the same time (or more) to get back in the evening. The air is so polluted that your chest is constantly scratchy and you find yourself coughing even though you are not sick. My friend Robin, who has lived here for 18 months, says she and her family are sick every 3 months. So I guess it is a good thing that I have spent every minute of the last 3 days inside or in the car. Tomorrow we are going to visit health clinics.

I am here with a team of experts conducting a mid-term review of a $90 million urban public health project funded mostly by Asian Development Bank (and the Brits, the Swedes, and UNFPA). It is extremely ambitious, and designed to serve the most needy in the urban slums – of which there are currently 30 million people in Bangladesh. At the current growth rate, 50% of Bangladesh will be living in urban areas in 25 years. So this is a highly relevant project, and exciting to be here.