Dhaka, Oct. 28 -- Every year, snakebites kill thousands of people in Bangladesh. Yet the country's only venom research centre, established to help develop an antivenom suited to local snakes, is struggling to survive. Its work is stalled by a lack of funding and a government project proposal caught in bureaucratic limbo.

The centre opened at Chattogram Medical College in March 2018, following World Health Organization guidance that antivenom should reflect regional differences in snake venom.

It has received no government funding since June 2024. Researchers have kept it running largely with borrowed money and personal contributions, but warn that the effort cannot continue indefinitely.

A development project proposal has been awaiting...