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Professor Abdullah H Baqui, one of Bangladesh’s leading public health researchers, has earned international recognition for pioneering community-based approaches that have transformed maternal and newborn healthcare in low-resource settings around the world.
A professor at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baqui has spent more than two decades demonstrating that simple, evidence-based interventions delivered by trained community health workers can save the lives of mothers and newborns, even in remote areas with limited access to hospitals.
His work has challenged the long-held belief that reducing newborn deaths depends primarily on specialised hospital care. Instead, Baqui has shown that quality healthcare delivered close to home through trusted local workers can dramatically improve survival rates.
In 2001, Baqui and a team of Bangladeshi researchers launched the Projahnmo initiative in Sylhet to address the country’s high rate of newborn mortality. The project trained community health workers to visit families at home, provide essential newborn care, educate parents and identify babies needing urgent medical attention.
The programme produced striking results. Newborn deaths during the first month of life fell by more than one-third, providing strong evidence that community-based care could substantially reduce infant mortality. The findings later influenced global recommendations and inspired similar programmes in numerous countries.
Projahnmo continued to generate research with worldwide impact. Its studies showed that newborns unable to reach hospitals could safely receive treatment within their communities under trained health workers. Another landmark study found that cleaning a newborn’s umbilical cord with a simple antiseptic significantly reduced infections and prevented deaths. The organisation also contributed to research that improved care for premature babies.
These discoveries have since been incorporated into national health policies and international clinical guidelines, benefiting millions of mothers and newborns far beyond Bangladesh.
Beyond research, Baqui has consistently advocated for strengthening local leadership in global health. He has encouraged Bangladeshi scientists to lead research, influence public health policy and build sustainable national institutions capable of driving long-term change.
That vision culminated in 2017 when Projahnmo Research Foundation became an independent Bangladeshi organisation. Since then, it has expanded its work across multiple districts while collaborating with the government, development partners and international organisations on maternal, newborn and child health programmes.
Baqui’s approach is built on partnership, trust and shared leadership, principles that have helped establish Projahnmo as a globally respected institution while ensuring that local expertise remains at the centre of its work.
His contributions were recently recognised internationally when the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health featured him in its IH Legacy Series, highlighting how his leadership transformed Projahnmo from a small research partnership in Bangladesh into a globally recognised, Bangladeshi-led organisation influencing maternal and newborn healthcare policies around the world.