The Kamrangirchar peninsula was formerly used as a dumping ground for Dhaka’s trash. Over the past several decades, however, more and more people began to live in the area. Covering just three square kilometers, the area is now home to 400,000 people- most of who have migrated from other parts of Bangladesh. Many are suffering from diarrhoeal diseases and skin rashes, often as a direct result of the unhygienic living conditions in this heavily polluted area. Toxic waste from Dhaka’s industries is released into the Buriganga river, where many people from Kamrangirchar bathe and wash their clothes. Families often live in cramped living conditions, with up to ten people sharing a room. Apart from MSF’s clinics, there are no health structures in Kamrangirchar that provide free medical care.

Urban Survivors is a multimedia project by Doctors Without Borders/ Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) in collaboration with the NOOR photo agency and Darjeeling Productions, highlighting the critical humanitarian and medical needs that exist in slums the world over.

Photo: Dhaka, Bangladesh © Stanley Greene/NOOR