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Khabre desk
Recent reporting, analysis and explainers from the Bangladesh desk.
health
A medRxiv preprint analysing surveys of 26,539 recent mothers found that Bangladesh’s caesarean rate rose from 19.5% in 2012–13 to 52.0% in 2025. The researchers attributed most of the increase, in accounting terms, to more births taking place in facilities.
health
An analysis of Bangladesh’s 2025 Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey found blood lead at or above 3.5 µg/dL in 17.7% of tested pregnant women, with levels concentrated in greater Dhaka. The medRxiv preprint also found an association between maternal and young-child lead levels.
health
A preprint analysis of Bangladesh’s 2025 household survey estimates that about 9 million people live in households whose tested water source exceeded an electrical-conductivity threshold of 1,500 µS/cm. The high readings were concentrated in coastal districts.
health
A preprint analysing Bangladesh’s 2025 Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey estimates that 38.5% of children aged 12–59 months had elevated blood lead. Prevalence was higher in wealthier and urban households, though it remained substantial in the poorest group.
health
An analysis of three Bangladesh household surveys estimates that the share of drinking-water sources above 10 ppb arsenic fell between 2012–13 and 2025. Different test kits used across the surveys make the size of the decline uncertain.