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    Dhaka, August 24, 2025 - On August 24, Ambassador of Japan to Bangladesh, H.E. Mr. SAIDA Shinichi, attended the inauguration ceremony of “The Project for the Strengthening Medical System of Haematological Diseases for Children in Dhaka District” at Bangladesh Shishu Hospital & Institute (BSHI). The project has been implemented with a grant from the Government of Japan under the Grant Assistance for Grass-roots Human Security Projects (GGHSP).
 
    Through this grant, BSHI has procured and installed one refrigerated centrifuge machine, one plasma storage freezer, and one automated aphaeresis machine. These essential medical devices will enable the hospital to prepare and provide blood component transfusions—an advanced treatment that reduces the risk of complications such as graft-versus-host disease—for pediatric patients suffering from hematological diseases, including blood cancer and thalassemia.
 
    Every year, approximately 8,000 newborns in Bangladesh are diagnosed with thalassemia, and many more suffer from blood cancers. Prior to this project, the absence of these machines forced BSHI to rely on costly component blood prepared at private hospitals, placing a heavy financial burden on families. As a result, at least 90 children annually could not access the necessary treatment. With the new equipment in place, around 4,200 pediatric patients from across the country are expected to benefit from affordable, life-saving transfusions at BSHI.
 
    “I hope this project will significantly enhance the treatment of hematological diseases for children in Dhaka and throughout Bangladesh,” stated Ambassador SAIDA.
 
    Japan has supported 221 NGO projects through GGHSP since 1989, with the view to enhancing economic and social human security in the grass-roots levels. The total sum of these GGHSP grants extended to approximately USD 17.5 million.