icddr,b

05/01/2026

💧 #ডায়রিয়া হলে পানিশূণ্যতা রোধ করে প্রাণ বাঁচাতে খাওয়ার #স্যালাইন বা #ওআরএস এর কোনো বিকল্প নেই। তবে এটি সঠিক নিয়ম মেনে না বানালে ও না খেলে রোগীর, বিশেষ করে শিশুদের ক্ষেত্রে মারাত্মক স্বাস্থ্য ঝুঁকি দেখা দিতে পারে। সঠিক নিয়মে খাওয়ার স্যালাইন বানানো ও খাওয়া নিয়ে মানুষের মাঝে ব্যাপক অসচেতনতা ও ভুল ধারণা থাকতে দেখা যায়।

📢তাই চলুন সঠিক পদ্ধতিতে খাওয়ার স্যালাইন বানানোর নিয়মগুলো আরেকবার ভালোভাবে দেখে নেই।

🤝 সম্পূর্ণ জনস্বার্থে কোনো প্রকার সম্মানী গ্রহণ না করে এই ভিডিও বার্তায় অংশগ্রহণ করার জন্য অভিনেত্রী নুসরাত ইমরোজ তিশার প্রতি আইসিডিডিআর,বি আন্তরিকভাবে কৃতজ্ঞ!

31/12/2025

🎉 Happy New Year!
Wishing everyone good health, happiness, and new possibilities in 2026.

28/12/2025

🤰🏾Introducing Premarital Counselling (PMC) and Preconception Care (PCC) to Delay Adolescent Pregnancy and Improve Maternal Health in Bangladesh

Bangladesh faces a high burden of early marriage and adolescent pregnancy, with 56% of girls married and 22% giving birth before age 18. Early pregnancy significantly increases health risks for both mothers and newborns. While reducing adolescent marriage remains a long-term challenge, its health consequences can be reduced by delaying adolescent pregnancy.

New studies by icddr,b, supported by UNFPA, show that integrating premarital counseling (PMC) into adolescent health, education, and reproductive health programmes, and introducing preconception care (PCC) into the public health system, can help delay adolescent pregnancies and improve maternal health outcomes.

The Directorate General of Family Planning (DGFP), along with icddr,b, organized a seminar on 23 December 2025 to share preliminary findings from an implementation research study on integrating PCC services into the health system and a pilot study assessing the feasibility of PMC in delaying adolescent pregnancy in rural Bangladesh with key stakeholders. The event brought together officials and representatives from the DGFP, the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), the Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education (DSHE), the Directorate of Madrasa Education, UNFPA, icddr,b, and other development partner organizations.

Bidhan Krishna Sarker, Associate Scientist at icddr,b, presented the key findings showing that both preconception care and premarital counseling are highly feasible, acceptable, and implementable within existing government, education, and health systems, highlighting a potential solution to reduce adolescent pregnancy in rural Bangladesh.

In the PMC study, 4,269 adolescents aged 13–19 from 6 unions in Faridganj Upazila, Chandpur district, received PMC counseling through schools, colleges, madrasas, community clinics, marriage registrars, and adolescent clubs. Parents and guardians were also engaged, alongside a digital app delivered educational content and generated course completion certificates for adolescents, which supported referral linkages to marriage registrars. The study showed that PMC can improve adolescents' knowledge of the appropriate age for marriage and pregnancy, helping delay early marriage and first pregnancies.

The PCC study enrolled 2,509 newly married girls aged 19 or younger from three upazilas in Gaibandha in a cluster-randomized trial. Findings suggest that PCC services supported improved identification and management of health conditions before conception and were associated with delayed first pregnancy, improved antenatal care uptake, and reduced pregnancy-related risks.

The researchers recommended a phased scale-up, prioritizing districts with high adolescent marriage and pregnancy rates. PMC should be implemented through national adolescent health, education, and reproductive health programs, with an emphasis on school-based delivery. PCC services should be integrated into the health system to reduce the high burden of adolescent and unintended pregnancies across Bangladesh.

Dr Ashrafi Ahmed, Director General of DGFP, attended the seminar as the Chief Guest. She said, “Both studies lay a groundwork for our efforts to stop child marriage in Bangladesh,” and assured her support for a phased scale-up.
Special guest Dr Syed Kamrul Islam, Director, PHC, DGHS, remarked that implementing PMC and PCC in Bangladesh can set an example and help reduce maternal mortality and pregnancy-related complications.

Special guest Professor Faruk Ahmed, Deputy Director of DSHE, noted that the studies will play an important role in launching rigorous nationwide initiatives to prevent child marriage and to improve family planning services.

Vibhabendra Singh Raghuvanshi, Chief of Health at UNFPA Bangladesh, noted that the studies provide strong technical evidence that PMC and PCC deliver results. “We need to explore offering them as universal package within sexual and reproductive health programmes for newly married couples and for adolescents in schools.”

Prof Dr Sameena Chowdhury, Ex-OGSB President, emphasized that supplements provided to women before conception are crucial. She also expressed that both studies are highly important and can be easily scaled up through the national health program.

These studies demonstrate that Premarital Counselling and Preconception Care are feasible, effective, and ready to be scaled up within Bangladesh’s existing health, education, and reproductive health systems, offering a practical pathway to delay adolescent pregnancy and improve maternal health nationwide.

21/12/2025

📊 𝐁𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐜 𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞 𝐨𝐧 𝐄𝐩𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐲, 𝐁𝐢𝐨𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐓𝐀
Epidemiology and Biostatistics are the cornerstones of public health science and practice. Modern science is explicitly evidence-based and relies heavily on numbers or quantities. An inquisitive mind always seeks knowledge and skills to organize quantitative measurements in meaningful ways and place those against the context for better understanding. The objective of this course is to provide participants with an understanding of basic concepts of epidemiology and skills in quantitative techniques to plan, design, and undertake basic epidemiological studies on specific health problems.

🔗 𝐂𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐤 𝐭𝐨 𝐑𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐍𝐨𝐰! https://training.icddrb.org/siteinfo/circularDetail?1=1&view=395

📅 𝐃𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: 18-29 January 2025

🗓️ 𝐋𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐀𝐩𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: 05 January 2026

📍 𝐕𝐞𝐧𝐮𝐞: Sasakawa Seminar Room – 1, icddr,b, Dhaka

18/12/2025

🦠Melioidosis in Bangladesh: Evidence, Challenges, and Way Forward for an Underdiagnosed Infectious Disease

🎙After returning from a trip to Cox’s Bazar and the Chattogram Hill Tracts, Md Rasel Rayhan and two of his friends developed a high fever. While his friends recovered within a few days, Mr Rayhan’s condition continued to worsen. Over the following four months, Mr Rayhan and his family had to go through repeated hospital visits and multiple admissions, including stays in intensive care unit (ICU), alongside extensive diagnostic investigations. He also received treatment for typhoid and pneumonia; however, his condition continued to deteriorate. At one stage of this long and strenuous journey, with no clear diagnosis, his family lost all hope and considered discontinuing treatment.

The underlying cause was later identified at BIRDEM General Hospital as melioidosis, a potentially fatal infectious disease that had remained unrecognised throughout much of his illness. Mr Rayhan had diabetes mellitus, which is a major risk factor for melioidosis infection.

Melioidosis is caused by Burkholderia pseudomallei, a gram-negative bacterium found in soil . Infection occurs through direct contact with contaminated soil or contaminated water via skin breaks or cuts, inhalation of contaminated dust or aerosols, or ingestion of contaminated water or food. Risk of infection increases following heavy rainfall or flooding. Clinically, melioidosis has a wide spectrum of presentations and frequently mimics pneumonia, tuberculosis, or bacterial sepsis, leading to misdiagnosis and delayed treatment.

Bangladesh is considered a definitive country for melioidosis, based on documented human cases and the isolation of B. pseudomallei from soil samples. Between 1968 and 2025, at least 150 human cases have been identified from clinical specimens. Despite this evidence, melioidosis remains underdiagnosed and underreported, particularly in low-resource settings like Bangladesh where access to advanced microbiology laboratories is limited and clinical awareness remains low. To address diagnostic and surveillance gaps, a joint melioidosis surveillance initiative among diabetic patients is currently being conducted by icddr,b and BIRDEM with the funding support from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

In this context, a scientific seminar was organised jointly by icddr,b, BIRDEM, and the Diabetic Association of Bangladesh, with funding support from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), MODRA, the University of Oxford, and Wellcome Trust on 14 December 2025. The seminar brought together students, physicians and researchers from medical colleges, hospitals, and research institutions to review the epidemiology of melioidosis in Bangladesh and discuss the existing challenges in diagnosis and clinical management.
The seminar was moderated by Dr Sukanta Chowdhury, Scientist, icddr,b, who welcomed all participants to gain an in-depth overview of melioidosis in Bangladesh and to discuss the challenges and way forward in research and clinical management.

In key presentations, Dr Farhan Muhib, Research Associate, Department of Microbiology, Ibrahim Medical College, discussed environmental sources of melioidosis in Bangladesh; Dr Srijoni Barua, Physician, BIRDEM General Hospital, reflected on the possibility of healthcare-associated transmission; Dr Shabrina, Research Physician at icddr,b, highlighted the recurrence of melioidosis in patients with diabetes; and Dr Lovely Barai, Professor and Head of the Department of Microbiology, BIRDEM, addressed factors associated with increased mortality among diabetic patients. Dr Sukanta Chowdhury shared findings from two ongoing projects and also emphasised a One Health perspective, highlighting the environmental origin of melioidosis and its implications for human health.

A panel of experts consisting Prof. Mohammad Abul Faiz, Prof J. Ashraful Haq, Prof. Md. Shariful Alam Jilani, Dr. Muhammad Abdur Rahim and Dr. Ariful Basher shared valuable perspectives on melioidosis diagnosis, treatment, control, and prevention.

The discussions at the seminar underscored a broader public health concern, as melioidosis is present in Bangladesh but often remains unrecognised until advanced stages of illness. The experts agreed that strengthening clinical diagnosis, raising awareness, enhancing laboratory capacity, and improving surveillance are essential to reduce preventable morbidity and mortality.

17/12/2025

📊 🧑‍🤝‍🧑 👩‍❤️‍👨 বাংলাদেশে নবদম্পতিদের মধ্যে বাল্যবিবাহ, দাম্পত্য সহিংসতা ও দাম্পত্য সন্তুষ্টির চিত্র তুলে ধরেছে আইসিডিডিআর,বি-র গবেষণা 🤰⚠️

দুই বছর ধরে চলা একটি দীর্ঘমেয়াদী কোহর্ট গবেষণায় দেখা গেছে, বাংলাদেশের নির্বাচিত গ্রামীণ এলাকা ও শহরের বস্তি এলাকায় নববিবাহিত দম্পতিদের জীবনে অল্প বয়সে বিয়ে, দ্রুত গর্ভধারণ এবং দাম্পত্য সহিংসতা এখনো উদ্বেগের বিষয়।

গবেষণায় অংশ নেয়া নারীদের মধ্যে গ্রামে ৪৩% এবং শহরের বস্তিতে ৬৫% নারী ১৮ বছরের আগেই বিয়ে হয়ে যাচ্ছে। বিয়ের প্রথম বছরে প্রায় তিন-চতুর্থাংশ (৭৩%) নারী গর্ভধারণ করছে, অথচ অনেক নারী, বিশেষ করে শহরের বস্তিতে বসবাসকারী নারীরা, কিছুটা দেরিতে সন্তান নিতে চেয়েছিলেন। প্রায় অর্ধেক নারীর গর্ভধারণ-ই ছিল অনিচ্ছাকৃত বা সময়ের আগেই। গবেষণায় দাম্পত্য সহিংসতার চিত্রও উদ্বেগজনক অবস্থায় দেখা গিয়েছে। বিয়ের মাত্র ছয় মাসের মধ্যেই পাঁচজনের মধ্যে চারজন নারী স্বামীর নিয়ন্ত্রণমূলক আচরণের শিকার হওয়ার কথা জানান। দুই বছরে অর্ধেকের বেশি নারী আর্থিক সহিংসতা এবং উল্লেখযোগ্য অংশ মানসিক, শারীরিক ও যৌন সহিংসতার অভিজ্ঞতার কথা বলেছেন।

🔗 বিস্তারিত পড়ুন - https://www.icddrb.org/press-releases/icddrb-study-reveals-early-marriage-violence-and-marital-satisfaction-among-newlywed-couples-in-bangladesh-17-12-2025

A new two-year cohort study under AdSEARCH by icddr,b has revealed an alarming picture of early marriage, intimate partner violence (IPV), and high rates of mistimed pregnancies among newlywed couples in selected rural areas and urban informal settlements of Bangladesh.

Among the participating women, 43% in rural areas and 65% in urban informal settlements were married before the age of eighteen. Within the first year of marriage, nearly three-quarters (73%) of women became pregnant, despite many women, particularly those living in urban informal settlements, expressing a clear desire to delay childbearing. Nearly half of these pregnancies were mistimed or unintended.

The study also revealed a troubling prevalence of intimate partner violence. Within the first six months of marriage, four in five women reported experiencing controlling behaviours from their husbands. Over the two years, more than half of the women experienced economic violence, while a substantial proportion reported emotional, physical, and sexual violence.

🔗Read the full article here: https://www.icddrb.org/press-releases/icddrb-study-reveals-early-marriage-violence-and-marital-satisfaction-among-newlywed-couples-in-bangladesh-17-12-2025

The study is supported by the Canada’s International Development – Global Affairs Canada, High Commission of Canada to Bangladesh

16/12/2025

🇧🇩আইসিডিডিআর,বি-তে মহান বিজয় দিবস উদযাপন

মহান বিজয় দিবসে মুক্তিযুদ্ধের সংগ্রাম ও ত্যাগের প্রতি গভীর শ্রদ্ধা জানিয়ে আইসিডিডিআর,বি কর্তৃপক্ষ ও স্টাফ ওয়েলফেয়ার অ্যাসোসিয়েশনের সদস্যদের অংশগ্রহণে আজ ঢাকার মহাখালী ক্যাম্পাসে জাতীয় পতাকা উত্তোলন ও ফুলেল শ্রদ্ধাঞ্জলি অর্পণ করা হয়। একই সময়ে আইসিডিডিআর,বি-এর মতলব হেলথ রিসার্চ সেন্টারসহ অন্যান্য ক্যাম্পাসেও জাতীয় পতাকা উত্তোলন কর্মসূচি পালিত হয়।

Victory Day Celebration at icddr,b

On this Victory Day, paying tribute to the struggles and sacrifices of the Liberation War, the national flag was hoisted and a floral wreath was laid at the Mohakhali campus in Dhaka with the participation of icddr,b management and members of the Staff Welfare Association. At the same time, the national flag hoisting ceremonies were also observed at other icddr,b campuses, including the Matlab Health Research Centre.

16/12/2025

🇧🇩মহান বিজয় দিবসের শুভেচ্ছা।

আজকের দিনে চলুন দেখি ১৯৭২ সালে প্রকাশিত স্বাধীন বাংলাদেশের মানচিত্রের প্রথম সংস্করণ কেমন ছিল, যে মানচিত্রটি অর্জিত হয়েছে অনেক ত্যাগ, তিতিক্ষা ও রক্তক্ষয়ী মুক্তিযুদ্ধের মধ্য দিয়ে।

আমরা কৃতজ্ঞতা জানাই জনস হপকিন্স ব্লুমবার্গ স্কুল অব পাবলিক হেলথ-এর জর্জ জি. গ্রাহাম প্রফেসর অব ইনফ্যান্ট অ্যান্ড চাইল্ড নিউট্রিশন, অধ্যাপক কিথ পি. ওয়েস্ট জুনিয়রকে, মানচিত্রটি তাঁর ব্যক্তিগত সংগ্রহ থেকে আইসিডিডিআর,বি-এর ৬৫তম প্রতিষ্ঠাবার্ষিকীতে উপহার হিসেবে দেওয়ার জন্য।

🇧🇩Happy Victory Day.

On this day, let us reflect on history and the first edition of the independent Bangladesh map, published in 1972, a map achieved through immense sacrifice, perseverance, and the bloodshed of the Liberation War.

We are grateful to Professor Keith P. West Jr., George G. Graham Professor of Infant and Child Nutrition at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, for presenting this map from his personal collection as a gift to icddr,b on the occasion of the institution’s 65th anniversary.

16/12/2025

🇧🇩Unique role of CRL, now icddr,b, in Bangladesh’s Liberation War

In 1971, when much of the world chose silence, scientists and physicians at Dhaka’s Cholera Research Laboratory, now icddr,b, chose truth, and stood on the right side of the history. They documented genocide, built a communication network from Dhaka to Washington, and laid the foundation of the pro-Bangladesh movement in the United States. This later led to the creation of the Bangladesh Information Center (BIC), which evolved into the central hub of American grassroots activism, advocacy, and congressional engagement for Bangladesh during the Liberation War.

🔗Read the full article by The Daily Star here:

Due to its strong ties to Pakistan as a Cold War ally, the Nixon administration declined to recognise the genocide.

15/12/2025

🎙️Professor Keith P. West Jr., the George G. Graham Professor of Infant and Child Nutrition at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, delivered the keynote address at icddr,b’s special seminar marking its 65th anniversary, titled “A Half-Century’s Journey of Nutritional Pursuit across Southern Asia,” held on 27 November 2025.

Drawing on a career that began in Bangladesh during the 1974 famine, he reflected on five decades of research across Bangladesh, Nepal and Indonesia that has shaped global understanding of micronutrient deficiencies, maternal nutrition and child survival. Drawing on emerging evidence from the JiVitA trial in Bangladesh, Professor West noted that women who begin multiple micronutrient supplementation before conceiving experience about a 30 percent reduction in early pregnancy loss compared with those who start supplementation only after pregnancy begins. He highlighted that early nutritional support may play a decisive role in improving pregnancy outcomes in settings where micronutrient deficiencies remain widespread.

🎥 Watch the full speech

13/12/2025

📢 The BBBS Annual Biorisk Conference 2025 held at icddr,b today

We were pleased to host the Bangladesh Biosafety and Biosecurity Society (BBBS) Annual BioRisk Conference 2025 at icddr,b today. The event brought together more than 200 leaders from health, academia, and government for discussions on 🦠 Containment of AMR ♻️ Biohazardous Waste Management 🔬 Biosafety and Biosecurity 🧬 Biotechnology.

The inaugural session opened with a welcome address from Dr Tahmeed Ahmed, Executive Director of icddr,b, who reflected on icddr,b’s longstanding contributions to global health and emphasised the need to strengthen biosafety systems and improve waste management across Bangladesh.

He was followed by Dr Md. Saifur Rahman, Joint Secretary (Environment), Ministry of Environment Forest and Climate Change, who highlighted the importance of a holistic and strategic approach to biohazardous waste management. Professor Dr Md Shahinul Alam, Vice Chancellor of Bangladesh Medical University, spoke on the growing relevance of biosafety and biosecurity in medical research and education.

The chief guest, Professor Dr SMA Faiz, Chairman of the University Grants Commission, called for sustained investment in institutional capacity and effective policy implementation to enhance national preparedness against biological threats. The session was chaired by Professor Dr Atiar Rahman, Vice Chancellor of Rangamati Science and Technology University, who acknowledged BBBS’s contributions over the past fifteen years and stressed the need to integrate biosafety and biosecurity into university curricula. The General Secretary of BBBS delivered the vote of thanks.

📚 The conference featured several technical sessions covering biohazardous waste management, the control of infectious diseases and antimicrobial resistance in human, animal, and environmental health, and guidelines, policies, and standards for medical waste management. Open presentation sessions on biosafety, biosecurity, and biotechnology provided additional opportunities for knowledge exchange. A poster presentation and idea contest offered a platform for young researchers and professionals to share innovative approaches.

The event gathered more than one hundred teachers, researchers, and clinicians from institutions across Bangladesh, creating a timely space for shared learning and collective action on , , and the responsible management of biological risks.

09/12/2025

🏅বেগম রোকেয়া পদক ২০২৫ পেলেন আইসিডিডিআর,বি-র ড. রুবহানা রাকীব

আমরা অত্যন্ত গর্বিত যে আইসিডিডিআর,বি-র ইমেরিটাস সায়েন্টিস্ট ড. রুবহানা রাকীব নারী শিক্ষা (গবেষণা) ক্ষেত্রে বিশেষ অবদানের জন্য বেগম রোকেয়া পদক ২০২৫-এ ভূষিত হয়েছেন।

রোকেয়া দিবস উপলক্ষে আজ ঢাকার ওসমানী স্মৃতি মিলনায়তনে আয়োজিত অনুষ্ঠানে চারজন বিশিষ্ট নারীর হাতে রোকেয়া পদক তুলে দেন অন্তর্বর্তী সরকারের মাননীয় প্রধান উপদেষ্টা অধ্যাপক মুহাম্মদ ইউনূস।

ড. রুবহানা তাঁর পেশাগত জীবন শুরু করেছিলেন ইমিউনোলজি ও পুষ্টিবিজ্ঞান নিয়ে গবেষণার মাধ্যমে। বাংলাদেশে ও বিশ্বব্যাপী সংক্রামক রোগ, টিকা গবেষণা এবং পরিবেশগত স্বাস্থ্যঝুঁকি বিষয়ে তিনি একজন অগ্রণী গবেষক। শিগেলা সংক্রমণ ও রোগ প্রতিরোধে, বিশেষ করে শিগেলা ভ্যাকসিন নিয়ে গবেষণায় তাঁর গুরুত্বপূর্ণ অবদান রয়েছে। স্বাস্থ্য গবেষণায় তাঁর অবদানের স্বীকৃতি হিসেবে তিনি দ্য ওয়ার্ল্ড অ্যাকাডেমি অব সায়েন্সেস-এর মেডিকেল অ্যান্ড হেলথ সায়েন্সেস ফেলোও নির্বাচিত হয়েছেন।

দীর্ঘ গবেষণা জীবনে তিনি দেখেছেন—গর্ভাবস্থা, শৈশব, অপুষ্টি ও পরিবেশগত দূষণ নিয়ে নারীর অভিজ্ঞতা বিজ্ঞানে নতুন প্রশ্ন ও দৃষ্টিভঙ্গি তৈরি করে। তাঁর গবেষণাগুলো বাংলাদেশের গ্রামীণ ও দরিদ্র জনগোষ্ঠীর স্বাস্থ্যঝুঁকি কমাতে বৈজ্ঞানিক ভিত্তি গড়ে তুলেছে।

অনুষ্ঠানে আইসিডিডিআর,বি-তে তাঁর নিবেদিতপ্রাণ দল ও সহকর্মীদের প্রতি গভীর কৃতজ্ঞতা জানিয়ে তিনি বলেন, “এই পুরস্কার আমাদের সকলের সম্মিলিত প্রয়াস ও নিষ্ঠার ফল। সকলের সহযোগিতা, কঠোর পরিশ্রম ও দলগত মনোভাব আমাদের প্রতিটি উদ্যোগকে সফল করেছে।”
নারীশিক্ষা, নারী অধিকার, মানবাধিকার ও নারী জাগরণে বিশেষ অবদানের স্বীকৃতি হিসেবে এবার চার নারীকে রোকেয়া পদক ২০২৫ দেওয়া হয়েছে। অন্যান্য পুরস্কারপ্রাপ্তরা হলেন—নারী অধিকার (শ্রম অধিকার) শ্রেণিতে কল্পনা আক্তার, মানবাধিকার শ্রেণিতে নাবিলা ইদ্রিস এবং নারী জাগরণ (ক্রীড়া) শ্রেণিতে ঋতুপর্ণা চাকমা।

আমরা ড. রুবহানা রাকীবকে আন্তরিক অভিনন্দন জানাই। তাঁর এই অর্জন অনুপ্রেরণা হয়ে থাকবে সেই সকল নারীদের জন্য, যারা বাধা পেরিয়ে দৃঢ়তার সঙ্গে শিক্ষা ও গবেষণার মাধ্যমে নারীদের জন্য আরও শক্তিশালী পথ তৈরি করে যাচ্ছেন।

🏅icddr,b’s Dr Rubhana Raqib receives Begum Rokeya Padak 2025

We are proud to share that icddr,b's Emeritus Scientist Dr Rubhana Raqib has been honoured with the Begum Rokeya Padak 2025 in the category of women's education for her outstanding contribution to research.

At an event held today at the Osmani Memorial Auditorium in Dhaka to mark Rokeya Day, the Honourable Chief Adviser of the Government of Bangladesh, Professor Muhammad Yunus, presented the awards to four distinguished women.

Dr Rubhana began her scientific career researching immunology and nutritional science. Over the years, she has become a leading researcher in Bangladesh in the areas of infectious diseases, vaccine research, and environmental health risks. She has made significant contributions to understanding and prevention of Shigella infections, particularly through her work on Shigella vaccine research. She was also selected a Fellow of The World Academy of Sciences (TWAS) in the Medical and Health Sciences category.

Through her long career, she has observed how women’s experiences during pregnancy, childhood, malnutrition, or exposure to environmental pollution bring new perspectives and questions to science. Her research has strengthened the scientific foundation for reducing health risks among rural and underserved populations in Bangladesh.

Expressing her gratitude to her dedicated team and colleagues at icddr,b, in her speech Dr Rubhana said, “This award reflects the collective efforts and commitment of our entire team. Everyone’s cooperation, hard work and team spirit have made our initiatives successful.”

This year, four women have been honoured with the Begum Rokeya Padak 2025 in recognition of their contributions to women’s education, women’s rights, human rights and women’s empowerment. The other awardees are Kalpana Akter (Women’s Rights), Nabila Idris (Human Rights), and Rituparna Chakma (Women’s Empowerment – Sports).

We congratulate Dr Rubhana Raqib on this remarkable achievement. Her work will continue to inspire women everywhere who strive, with resilience and determination, to advance education, research and empowerment for generations to come.