How air transport helps advance healthcare, education and employment

The availability of reliable air transport services provides people with access to what they need, whether that be decent livelihoods, food, healthcare, education, or safe communities and spaces.

Aviation is by far the world's safest and most efficient mode of long-range mass transportation. It provides the only possible means of transportation to provide health care to many remote communities, and it is a fast and reliable way to deliver urgent humanitarian aid during emergencies caused by natural disasters, famine and war.

For instance, during the pandemic, when global travel was at a standstill, life-saving vaccines were able to reach every corner of the world, thanks to air transportation. Air transport also fosters employment opportunities and catalyses trade and investment. 

While primarily contributing to addressing the health crisis, education and employment, air transport — within a broader perspective — proves to be instrumental in achieving the UN's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

A shot in the arm of healthcare 

Air transport has paved a new height of healthcare delivery in Bangladesh. 

Nowadays, air ambulances are often used to transport patients to and from hospitals, and to deliver medical supplies to remote areas. Air transport is also used to transport medical professionals to and from disaster zones.

In a global crisis like Covid-19, even Bangladesh administered over 100 million vaccine shots in just a few months, because it received the vaccines in the fastest possible time, thanks to air transport.  All other underdeveloped countries also got their vaccines delivered in weeks by airlines that transported billions of coronavirus vaccines worldwide. Air transport has also been instrumental in delivering medical personnel and supplies to regions affected by the pandemic.

The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) uses air transport to deliver humanitarian aid to people affected by natural disasters and other emergencies in Bangladesh. In 2020, WFP airlifted tonnes of food to Bangladesh to support different crises. 

Last year, Bangladesh Air Force distributed relief in flood-affected areas of Sylhet and Sunamganj.  Such aid progrrames play an important role to realise the UN's 'Zero Hunger' goal.

In May 2023, Cyclone Mocha caused considerable destruction to homes and facilities in all camps in Cox's Bazar, and in local Bangladeshi communities. More than 14,000 Rohingya received WFP emergency food assistance.

Amid the 2023 Marburg outbreaks in Equatorial Guinea and Tanzania, the WHO and other humanitarian organisations have once again turned to air transport to facilitate the delivery of much-needed medical supplies and personnel to support the response to the Marburg outbreaks in these regions.

Air transport also helps to ensure food security by facilitating the transportation of food and agricultural products.  

Piloting dreams

Air transport is not just about planes in the sky; it's about aspirations of taking flight. It is the enabler of progress, connecting communities, unlocking potential, and safeguarding lives. 

The air transport industry is a notable source of employment in Bangladesh, and it also supports a number of other sectors, such as tourism, trade, and manufacturing. By creating jobs and boosting economic growth, air transport helps to reduce poverty, again another objective of SDG. 

The industry itself in Bangladesh employs over 129,000 people directly and indirectly. Apart from the direct contribution, it is only for air that a significant amount of Bangladeshi migrant workers go abroad and repatriate a healthy amount of remittance. 

As per the World Bank, remittances from Bangladeshi migrant workers constituted 6.2% of the national GDP in 2022, amounting to approximately $28.5 billion, given that Bangladesh's GDP for that year was $460 billion. One couldn't even imagine this staggering number if there was no air traffic. 

Learning to fly or flying to learn?

Air transport makes it possible for students and teachers to travel to different parts of the world to study and teach. This is especially important for students and teachers in remote or underserved areas. 

For example, air transport allows students from developing countries to attend universities in developed countries, and it allows teachers from developed countries to volunteer in developing countries.

Every year, students go abroad for higher education. Connecting you to global knowledge and interacting with the best minds of Harvard, MIT, oxford, cambridge. Air travel gets the huge number of students to the global classrooms. 

According to the UNESCO Institute for Statistics, 49,151 Bangladeshi students went abroad for higher education in 2022. This is a 10% increase from 2021. A total of 52,799 Bangladeshi students went abroad for study in 2023, until the month of October.

Just imagine 70 years ago, nobody could even imagine that an ambitious student from a third world country like Bangladesh will go to Europe and get back with a fancy degree and global knowledge!  This was not even a thing. Nowadays, you can fly just to attend international conferences anywhere in the world and meet the best people of your respective fields. 

Air transport makes it possible for students and teachers to participate in educational exchanges with other countries. This can be a valuable experience for students and teachers, as it allows them to learn about different cultures and educational systems. For example, many universities have student exchange programs that allow students to study at a partner university in another country for a semester or a year.

Researchers can travel by air to different parts of the world to collect data and collaborate with other researchers. This can help to advance educational research and improve educational practices around the world. For example, researchers may travel to different countries to study the effects of different educational policies or to develop new educational technologies.