Shakti Foundation and IRD Global Bangladesh have initiated a “School-Based Covid-19 Surveillance” project that will screen school students using Antigen Rapid Test (Ag-RDT).
Shakti Foundation, one of the nation’s leading non-government developmental organizations, in association with IRD Global Bangladesh with funding from Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, will conduct Ag-RDT tests to screen Covid among students from both public and private schools all over Dhaka City, completely free of cost, according to a media statement.
Shakti Foundation and IRD Bangladesh signed an agreement on Tuesday.
The statement said that students who test positive will be linked with or provided proper treatment through clinical assessment.
Moreover, students in isolation or quarantine, as well as their parents, will be provided with educational information, psychological counseling and other social support as needed.
The signing ceremony was presided over by the Shakti Foundation Deputy Executive Director Mr Imran Ahmed and IRD Global Country Director Dr Tapash Roy.
Shakti Foundation has made a significant contribution towards combating the spread of Covid through awareness building and free mask distribution via its initiative, "Mask Amar, Shurokkha Shobar".
Through this campaign, Shakti Foundation has distributed more than 3,000,000 free masks and spread awareness among nearly 5,000,000 people.