DGDA’s commitment to the medicine shop accreditation program during the Bangladesh flooding

BHB’s target of accrediting 10,000 medicine shops by September 2024 was in danger when a major flash flood hit the eastern part of Bangladesh on 17 August 2024. As of 16 August 2024, 9,166 (91.7% of target) medicine shops had been accredited. Despite the disruption caused by the floods, the regulatory authority, the Directorate General of Drug Administration (DGDA), ensured that the accreditation process continued. BHB’s first concern was to make sure that field staff could safely continue working in the dangerous areas; however, by the end of August, they had accredited 9,571 shops (95.7%)—405 more since the flood.