Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) and Telenor Health AS signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) at the Dhaka Apparel Summit that took place at Pan Pacific Sonargaon Hotel.

Mohammed Nasir, Vice President (Finance), BGMEA, signed on behalf of the Association while Dr. Fred Hersch, Chief Medical Officer, represented Telenor Health. The two parties signed the the agreement to work together with digital and mobile technology to improve health and wellbeing of the garment workers in Bangladesh.

Through the collaboration, existing Telenor Health services, which have already gained widespread popularity in Bangladesh, will be offered to RMG workers in a number of cities in Bangladesh. Moreover, the two bodies together will work to identify and develop sustainable financing models for health and wellness services for RMG workers. They will also identify opportunities for innovative and affordable solutions and services to help RMG workers take better care of their health.

‘Working with Telenor Health will be a new and innovative approach for the Association to facilitate sustainability in the apparel industry, which accounts for 81% of total export earnings for Bangladesh. One of the ways this can be achieved is by ensuring that the large number of workers contributing to this growth are given access to quality healthcare. This collaboration will hopefully allow us to be one step closer to branding our sector as one of the safest industries in the world,’ commented Md. Siddiqur Rahman, President of BGMEA.

Sajid Rahman, CEO of Telenor Health, was one of the representatives of Telenor Health during the signing. ‘About 4 million RMG workers in Bangladesh directly contribute to the economic progress of Bangladesh. Both Telenor Health and BGMEA recognize the need to take steps to improve their health and wellbeing by ensuring the best possible health care services for them. Through this collaboration we look forward to achieving positive results by making our services available to them and assisting them financially,’ he said.

Other key individuals present at the event included Mr. Faruque Hassan, Senior Vice President of BGMEA, Fatema Sultana, Head of Business Relation, GM, Telenor Country Office, Mahmud Hossain, Chief Corporate Affairs Officer at Grameenphone, and Mr. Hans Henrichsen, Chief Representative Officer, Telenor Country Office.