News Desk : dhakamirror.com
Social Marketing Company (SMC), a not-for-profit organisation, has completed 50 years of remarkable operations in the health sector of Bangladesh. Over the past five decades, the company has achieved significant milestones by marketing innovative products and delivering essential healthcare services.
SMC recently organised a programme at the InterContinental Dhaka to celebrate 50 years of its successful journey, according to a press release.
Salehuddin Ahmed, adviser to the Ministry of Finance, attended the event as the chief guest.
Addressing the occasion, Ahmed commended SMC’s significant contributions to improving the health system in Bangladesh over the past five decades. He congratulated the organisation on its golden jubilee and wished it continued success in its mission to enhance public health.
Md Saidur Rahman and Md Sarwar Bari, secretaries of the Health Services Division and the Health Education and Family Welfare Division under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, and Prof Jeff French, president of the International Social Marketing Association, were present as special guests.
Nearly half of the country’s modern family planning users rely on SMC-branded contraceptives. In the 1980s, diarrhea was one of the leading causes of child mortality in Bangladesh. SMC’s oral rehydration solution, OR Saline (ORS), has significantly reduced nationwide diarrhea-related mortality rates.
Currently, the company is implementing various health and nutrition programmes targeting mothers, children, adolescents, and other family members.
In 2014, SMC established a subsidiary named SMC Enterprise Limited. Through the successful initiatives of this subsidiary, it has been possible to implement sustainable public health programmes for women, children, and families across the country.
Alongside implementing health programmes, SMC markets a wide range of public health products, including oral saline, nutritional powders, electrolyte drinks, deworming tablets, sanitary napkins, baby diapers, and fortified biscuits.
Waliul Islam, chairman of SMC and SMC Enterprise, Toslim Uddin Khan, managing director and CEO of SMC, Sayef Nasir, managing director of SMC Enterprise, along with directors of SMC, representatives from diplomatic missions, development agencies, prominent public health experts, and members of civil society, were also present. – Press release
