Comilla Comilla is an eastern city of Bangladesh with an age-old history from the reign of the kings of the Shamatat, Harikel and Deva dynasties. As a district, it was first named ‘Tripura’, later in 1960 (the period of Pakistan era), it was renamed ‘Comilla’. The Comilla district has notable memories related to the second world war as the Comilla cantonment Photo credit: BRAC/Shehzad Noorani was one of the most important BRAC Nursery supports afforestation by providing quality seedling and increasing military bases for British Indian environmental awareness. Army. It was the headquarters of the British 14th Army. programme stands as the second and sanitation services. In Comilla Mynamati, a famous war cemetery, largest programme in this district. district, BRAC WASH programme was established after the second Under the education programme, has an outstanding achievement world war to remember the allied BRAC runs around 500 schools, of 89 per cent sanitation coverage soldiers who died during the first innovative adolescent development by installing sanitary latrines in and second world wars. They were programme, gonokendros the schools. Apart from these mostly from the Commonwealth (community libraries) etc. The mentioned programmes, BRAC states and the United States. The main purpose of BRAC Education also runs human rights and district, which is located by the is to assist the government to legal aid services, community river Gumti, is an important junction achieve Education for All (EFA) empowerment and agriculture for road communication for the and Millennium Development and food security programmes eastern part of the country. The Goals (MDG) by the year 2015. successfully. famous Grand Trunk Road made BRAC Health, Nutrition and during the Indian sub-continent, Population programme is another General information passes through the city. BRAC core programme that is running started working in Comilla from the successfully in this district. This is a Population 5,602,625 very beginning of its operation. It combination of preventive, curative, Unions 185 runs some of its core programmes rehabilitative and promotional such as microfinance, education, health services which focuses on Villages 3,687 health and WASH in Comilla improving maternal, neonatal and Children (0-15) 1,512,708 district. Of them, Microfinance is child health (IMNCS), as well as Primary schools 2,003 the largest programme that offers combating communicable diseases Literacy rate 60.02% two types of loans – dabi (micro and common health problems Hospitals 23 loan) and progoti (enterprise loan) which forms the key component Number of NGOs 101 with around 300,000 members of essential healthcare. Another Banks 40 and 100,000 borrowers. On the core programme is BRAC WASH Bazaars 242 other hand, BRAC Education which mainly deals with water

www.brac.net At a glance Community Empowerment Polli shomaj 290 As of December, 2014 Union shomaj 19 Popular theatre team 11 Microfinance Branches 96 Human Rights and Village organisations 4,047 Legal Aid Services Members 226,922 Borrowers 105,804 HRLE shebikas (including odhikar shebis) 552 Progoti Number of legal aid clinics 15 (small enterprise clients) 19,419 Complaints resolved 2,507 Tenant Farmers’ Development Project Gender Justice No VOs 612 Population covered 14,432 and Diversity Student watch Education group/member 20/500 Community watch Pre-primary schools 245 group/member 19/303 Primary schools 286 Sexual harassment ADP centres 209 elimination network 45 Gonokendros 74 Migration Health, Nutrition SMFC/CBO Facilitators 1/5 and Population Migration associates/ Health volunteers 2,805 volunteers 3/17 Health workers 280 Social Enterprises Water, Sanitation Aarong 1 and Hygiene Cold Storage 1 Fisheries 1 Sanitation coverage 89% Nursery 1 Sanitary latrine installed in school 217 Deep tube-wells installed 374

Although every effort has been made to include and verify the accuracy of relevant information in this fact sheet, users are urged to check independently on matters of specific interest. Report any discrepancies/suggestions to [email protected]. This document was last updated on 31 December 2014, is revised yearly and made available on www.brac.net/visitors.