Dr. Mahmood was born in Cox’s Bazar, a small seaside port town in Bangladesh. In the nearby town of Chittagong, he completed his high school and college education and graduated from Chittagong Medical College, University of Chittagong in 1987. After a short period of training at a local mother and children’s hospital in Bangladesh, Dr. Mahmood moved to the US for higher education. Subsequently he completed specialized training in Pediatric Residency from Brooklyn Hospital, New York and fellowship training in the sub-specialty of Pediatric Endocrinology in New York Hospital – Cornell University Medical College.

 

Dr. Mahmood felt that there was tremendous unnecessary suffering being endured by the poor and sick mothers and children in Bangladesh. He always dreamed of building a charitable hospital to help them. While visiting Bangladesh in 1999 he decided to establish a charitable hospital in his home town of Cox’s Bazar to provide medical care to the most neglected people in the community.

Dr. Mahmood established HOPE Foundation for Women & Children of Bangladesh, Inc.’ in 1999 in the USA as a charitable organization whose mission is to provide healthcare to the poor and needy mothers and children in Bangladesh.

In January 2000, the outpatient clinic of Cox’s Bazar Hospital for Women and Children was opened in a rented room with one doctor providing medical care to the poor people of the area. The outpatient clinic ran successfully for 5 years during which time over 60,000 patient visits were made.

Meanwhile, Dr. Mahmood began a fundraising campaign among friends, colleagues and the expatriate Bangladeshi community in America to raise money to build a fully functioning hospital that could provide more services to the poor.

During 2004 a series of fundraising events helped raise money to build a 40-bed hospital in a rural area just outside Cox’s Bazar. The hospital construction began in 2004 and the hospital was inaugurated in April 2005. This hospital provides much needed service to the community at nominal expense and free to those who cannot afford to pay. A total of eight additional satellite clinics were established in nearby rural villages to better serve those who cannot afford to travel to the hospital for varying reasons, as well as refer patients with more complicated and severe cases to the hospital where they can receive the appropriate treatment they need. HOPE Foundation now boasts several specialized care projects and aims to provide even more in the near future.

HOPE hospital was built with a vision of emerging as a major healthcare center for the area’s needy. HOPE is serving over 25,000 patients a year and aims to continue growing to reach as many destitute people as possible.

Dr. Mahmood lives in Miami, Florida with his wife and three children.

Our Mission

To provide health services to needy people in Bangladesh, particularly the women and children in rural areas.

Established in 1999 by Dr. Iftikher Mahmood, a Bangladeshi-American, HOPE Foundation for Women and Children of Bangladesh was created with the goal of serving those most in need. Bangladesh has an extremely high maternal, infant and child mortality rate. Most of these deaths could be prevented with a mass education program of preventative health and early intervention to manage infectious conditions as well as provide basic treatment. The ratio of healthcare workers and health facilities is extremely low and consequently, the health needs of this country are vastly unmet. Medical treatment is often ill equipped to provide the necessary treatment. There are currently 300 beds in this area to treat 2 million people living in Cox’s Bazar. Dr. Mahmood, being a Pediatrician, wanted to make a profound impact on the lives of his people and provide services for those who otherwise could not afford it. Through tireless fundraising, HOPE’s team raised enough money to build a 40-bed hospital in Ramu, Cox’s Bazar, as well as 8 HOPE Medical Centers in rural areas.