Meeting Basic Needs of Internal Migrants in the Slums of Dhaka: A Temporal Account at Places of Origin and Places of Destination, Mohammad E. Kabir, Peter Davey and Dr. Moazzem Hossain and Rashadur Rahman
Mohammad Ehsanul Kabir*
University of Dhaka
Peter Davey
Griffith University, Australia
Moazzem Hossain
Griffith University, Australia
Rashadur Rahman
Jatiya Kabi Kazi Nazrul Islam University, Bangladesh
Purpose: This study makes a comparative assessment of access to basic services, disease issues and economic conditions of disadvantaged internal migrants related to their places of origin and places of destination.
Design: This cross-sectional study compares participants’ present and retrospective information (before migration) based on the same types of questions. The analysis took place in seven slums located in the Mohammadpur, Rayerbazar and Jigatola areas of Dhaka City in Bangladesh; 74 participants who had migrated from rural places of origin were interviewed.
Findings: The results showed some improvements for the migrants in basic household infrastructure and hygiene practices after migrating to these slums compared to their previous status in places of origin. However, the frequency of diseases increased in the short to medium term after migration, as reported by the participants. The study argues that increased incidents of disease at places of destination can be associated with limited access to free healthcare benefits and the burden of increased living costs compared to the participants’ places of origin.
Value: This study considered some key issues of internal migration, with a temporal account before migration at places of origin and after migration at places of destination. The feedback from the disadvantaged migrants who compared their current living conditions with life at their place of origin has not previously been studied in low income countries.
Keywords: Migration; Bangladesh; temporal account; diseases and healthcare
Reference to this paper should be made as follows: M. E. Kabir, P. Davey, M. Hossain and R. Rahman (2018) ‘Meeting Basic Needs of Internal Migrants in the Slums of Dhaka: A Temporal Account at Places of Origin and Places of Destination’, Int. J. Food, Nutrition and Public Health, Vol. 10, No. 1, pp. 16–27.