Assia lives in the Jamalpur district of Bangladesh and until recently had been unwell with a severe gynaecological infection. Thanks to United Purpose she is slowly recovering so that she can continue to work and look after her two children.
Before she became ill, Assia worked full-time and cared for her children and her husband and mother in law. When she developed an infection, it quickly progressed, leaving her exhausted and unable to walk. Assia and her family didn’t seek treatment due to the long distance to health centres and the high cost of consultation services. Her illness put a strain on her relationship with her husband and he left her, forcing her to go and live with her father. There, she tried to contribute to the household income by sewing but she struggled, barely getting by, as her illness continued to worsen.
Then, a relative of Assia’s, who is a member of the local Women’s Business Centre sub-centre, told her about the telemedicine service being offered at the centre nearby. Women’s Business Centres are supported by the German development agency GIZ and commissioned by the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany.
Assia visited the centre where she spoke to a doctor who diagnosed her condition and provided her with a prescription for antibiotics. Over the next two weeks, the centre’s entrepreneur regularly followed up with Assia to ensure she was taking her medicine. By the end of the antibiotic course, Assia was feeling better than she had in a long time and her husband returned and brought her back to their house. She says that he will take care of her now and that she will return to the centre for health concerns in the future.
Assia says that the telemedicine services at the centre have changed her life and she hopes it will reach others like her who are suffering and feel helpless.