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NUKNari Uddug Kendra
Centre for Women's Initiatives
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Health

Progress Update: NUK's New Eye Hospital in Savar Upazila

NUK's most recent health initiative — a dedicated eye hospital in Dhamsona Union, Savar Upazila — has completed its first rounds of outreach screening, extending NUK's eye care model into one of Dhaka District's densest industrial communities.

Why Savar

Savar Upazila is home to a large population of low-income migrant workers, many employed in the same garment factories NUK has worked alongside for decades through its Garment Worker Support Program. Despite the area's industrial density, specialist eye care has historically been difficult for residents to access without significant travel and cost.

Applying a proven model

The new hospital follows the outreach-and-referral approach refined at Kishoreganj Eye Hospital: portable screening camps identify patients with surgical-stage cataracts or other treatable conditions, who are then referred into the hospital itself for low-cost treatment.

Early outreach has prioritised garment factory clusters, coordinating timing with factory management to minimise disruption to workers' shifts — consistent with NUK's broader non-confrontational approach to working within the RMG sector.

Next steps

NUK plans to expand outreach further into Savar's surrounding unions over the coming year, while monitoring whether the workplace-adjacent location measurably increases uptake of care among women, who continue to access eye health services later and less often than men.