Bangladesh bets €250 million (about $293 million) on women's health — reaching 47 million women and girls

Bangladesh's health minister, Sardar Md. Sakhawat Hussain, unveiled the country's Women's Health Initiative in Berlin: a €250 million (about $293 million) programme that redirects an existing European Investment Bank loan toward maternal and newborn care, cervical and breast cancer services, and stronger district hospitals. Between 2027 and 2031 it aims to bring essential care to roughly 47 million women and girls, with UNFPA providing technical expertise. It is part of a bigger national push — a planned rise in public health spending from 1% to 5% of GDP and 100,000 new community health workers, 80% of them women.