The Bangladesh Country Coordination Mechanism (BCCM) Technical Working Group (HIV/AIDS) Meeting on Developing SOP for the Transgender Community was organized by Pathfinder International and took place at the Hotel Bengal Blueberry in Gulshan-2, Dhaka, on July 25, 2022. The meeting's Chief Guest was Dr. Md. Khurshid Alam, Line Director, TB-L and ASP, DGHS. Additionally, the meeting was attended by Dr. Md. Abdul Waheed, Line Director of the National AIDS/STD Program (NASP), and about 15 other members of the technical working group.
The initiation to develop a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) was taken by Pathfinder International in which Dr. Nazneen Akhter is the Lead Consultant. Pathfinder opened the meeting with greetings. The results of the landscape analysis were presented by Dr. Fatema Shabnam, an adolescent and youth specialist with USAID Shukhi Jibon. Then, on behalf of Dr. Nazneen Akhter, Ms. Umme Suriea, program and research associate of VAALO avant-garde Ltd., shared a presentation on the outline of the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for SRHR for the Transgender Community.
This draft outline was the subject of an open discussion to gather opinions, ideas, or other information that will assist the SOP development process. Md. Mahbub - Ul - Alam, Project Director, USAID Shukhi Jibon and Country Director, Pathfinder International, concluded the meeting with his closing remarks.
This meeting was really informative where the feedback and valuable inputs from different ends made an effective one. Now the whole assignment has got a new thrust, the entire VAALO team is hopeful about drawing a successful first draft of the SOP.
