Health Camps for Women Waste Workers: Celebrating International Women’s Day in Chattogram

Taslima works in a scrap shop in Chattogram as a waste worker. Every day, informal waste workers recover and recycle large volumes of plastic, preventing it from polluting drains and our waterways.

As a waste worker, Taslima barely earns BDT 300 a day, making it difficult to invest anything in medical checkups. However, the job is physically demanding, and often results in health complications. “By the end of the day, my back hurts a lot,” Taslima says. “Sometimes the pain is so strong that I can barely sleep. But I still have to return to work the next morning.”

On 8 March, to mark International Women’s Day, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) organised four health camps across Chattogram City Corporation for waste workers like Taslima. This initiative was undertaken with support from The Coca-Cola Foundation and in partnership with Young Power in Social Action (YPSA).  

The camps offered free medical checkups, screenings, counselling, and other essential health services that informal workers rarely receive despite facing daily exposure to hazardous waste. Women participants also received dignity kits and access to private consultations on reproductive and menstrual health.

For many, it was the first time they had been able to discuss these health concerns with medical professionals in a safe and respectful environment.

The camps were organised not only as a health intervention but also as a way to recognise the critical role these women play in protecting the environment. 

Babar Ali, who is a mountaineer and a doctor, attended the initiative and highlighted the importance of supporting women who work on the environmental frontline. “It is essential to invest in the well-being and dignity of the women who protect our environment every day,” he said, adding that such initiatives should reach every corner of Bangladesh.

The initiative reached 300 people, including 230 women waste workers.

“In our medical camp, we can see that women not only have back pain or joint pain, but they are also suffering from malnutrition; something that should be taken care of,” said one of the doctors working in the medical camps. 

Sayed Monjurul Hoque, Project Manager of the Plastics Circularity Project, said, “Beyond recognition, we are institutionalising safety for these essential workers. By providing health insurance and training on occupational hazards like PPE use and heat stress, we ensure those who protect our environment are themselves protected from the daily risks of their trade.”

The project intends to expand support through free health insurance for 2,000 waste workers, including 600 women, and provide training on safe waste handling, use of protective equipment, heat stress management, and hygiene practices across Chattogram, Cox’s Bazar, and Tangail.