By Friendship News Desk,
2 March, 2026
Eastern Bank PLC. (EBL) announced a strategic partnership with Friendship SPO through the Bank’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) fund. The signing ceremony for the MoU was held at EBL’s head office in the Gulshan area of the capital, Dhaka. It finalised a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the two parties to provide essential surgical care through Friendship’s Char Surgery Access Programme that serves the isolated river island communities in northern Bangladesh. Through Friendship’s floating hospitals (EFH and LFH), satellite clinics and community medic-aides, the programme brings specialist surgical services directly to remote and hard-to-reach populations.
The intervention aims to restore sight, mobility, dignity, and quality of life for individuals living with long-neglected but treatable conditions. Over 1,000 surgical procedures—including general surgery, burn contracture repair, Achilles tendon surgery, prolapse correction and cataract treatment—will be provided, reflecting EBL’s commitment to improving healthcare access and outcomes for marginalised communities.
In tandem, EBL is also partnering with Friendship for the establishment of multi-source water treatment plants (WTP) in Shyamnagar to ensure safe drinking water in the southern coastal region of Bangladesh. Notably, these regions have frequent cyclones and storm surges that compromise freshwater sources and damage critical infrastructure such as polders and tube wells. The initiative involves installing two WTPs, each capable of serving approximately 400 families, thereby providing safe drinking water to a total of 800 families. Each plant delivers up to 1,000 litres of purified water per hour, addressing chronic water scarcity and reducing the prevalence of waterborne diseases. This intervention highlights EBL’s commitment to improving public health, enhancing community resilience and ensuring sustainable access to safe drinking water for vulnerable populations.
The two interventions together underline Friendship’s integrated adaptation approach, which addresses all aspects of sustainable development to achieve long-term results.
Speaking on the occasion, Ahmed Shaheen, Additional Managing Director of EBL, said, “Friendship NGO continues to play an instrumental role in humanitarian service across the country through their unique flotilla hospitals, and Friendship will be our trusted partner for financing to address the adverse impact of climate risk.“
On behalf of Friendship Dr. Kazi Golam Rasul, Senior Director and Head of Health, said, “The communities that we work with are bereft of basic healthcare, coping with years of ailments and conditions that can easily be treated, if not cured, due to lack of accessibility, affordability and appropriate information. We are so glad that EBL will be joining us in this mission with a noble gesture, and we hope to have a long and effective partnership.”
The signing ceremony was attended by senior representatives from both organisations.
