Samajik Health Science Institute & Research Centre

In Bengali, samajik means social: The Samajik Health Science Institute and Research Centre will be the central hub of a country wide health network, offering a range of services from primary health clinics in rural areas, to tertiary referral and specialty care in Dhaka. Seeking to expand health access nationwide, The Samajik Health Science Institute and Research Centre is formed as a Social Business enterprise: a sustainable model of premier medical education and healthcare provision available to all, regardless of their ability to pay.

MASS led engagement workshops with Professor Muhammad Yunus and Grameen Kalyan representatives, in addition to local architectural consultants Design Lab, towards the planning, visioning, and programming for the new Samajik Hospital. The mission of the hospital is to deliver high-quality, affordable care to the people of Bangladesh with care and compassion. To do so, Samajik Hospital will employ a graduated payment scale, utilizing income from full-fee health services to subsidize free and low cost services for the poor.

In addition to a 500 bed hospital facility, the Samajik Health Science Institute and Research Centre will include a Medical College and Health Technology Institute. These institutions, together, with a new nursing school on the campus, will train the next generation of Bangladeshi health professionals. The design incorporates adapted infectious disease control measures to mitigate COVID-19 and other infectious diseases MASS developed for their healthcare project in Rwanda.

By building a network of the best trained practitioners, hospitals, and technology, The Samajik Health Science Institute and Research Centre will deliver a suite of high-quality, affordable services to the people of Bangladesh, fostering more robust public trust in a local, innovative, exemplary system of healthcare.

Currently, Grameen Kalyan operates 132 primary clinics across Bangladesh and this will soon more than double to nearly 300. In addition, future plans include the design and construction of district level secondary hospitals and the potential expansion of Samajik Hospital to include Centers of Excellence for specialty care.