How to check on elderly parents in Bangladesh from abroad

For Bangladeshi families in the UK, the Gulf and beyond: a daily WhatsApp check-in in Bangla, the 999 emergency number, and a local circle for quiet days.

By the Athnova Care team · Updated 2026-10-05

Why families abroad worry about parents in Bangladesh

Bangladeshi families are spread from Tower Hamlets and Oldham to Riyadh, Doha, Kuala Lumpur, Rome and New York, while parents stay in Sylhet, Dhaka, Chattogram, Cumilla or a village. Money goes home every month; news of a parent’s health often arrives late, through a cousin.

A short daily check-in in Bangla tells you every morning that your parent is up and well, and makes sure someone acts on the morning they do not answer.

A daily check-in in Bangla, on WhatsApp

Every morning, at the time you choose on their clock, your parent gets one WhatsApp message in Bangla: did they take their morning medicines? They tap a button — "yes", "not yet" or "please call me" — and you see the answer in the family app.

Nothing to install and no password: the message arrives on the WhatsApp they already use, from a contact called Athnova Care. They can also send a photo of a blood-pressure reading, a prescription or a report at any time.

If the morning message is not answered, a reminder follows about three hours later. Our follow-up phone call does not reach Bangladesh yet, so if the reminder also goes unanswered you are alerted straight away, and then the neighbour or relative you chose is asked to check.

Emergency numbers in Bangladesh

Save these in your own phone and in your parent's, and on the fridge. Messages from Athnova Care quote this number when your parent says they are unwell, and so does their emergency card.

Number	What it is for
999	National Emergency Service — police, fire and ambulance, free from any phone

We are not an emergency service. In an emergency, your parent or the person with them should call the local number first.

Build a local circle before you need it

Choose two people who can reach the house within an hour — a brother or cousin nearby, a trusted neighbour, someone from the mosque or the bazaar — and save their WhatsApp numbers in the app. Agree with them that a message from us means "please go and look".

Write the address the way a rickshaw or CNG driver would find it: house and road number or para, area or village, thana or upazila, and a landmark such as a mosque, school or market. Put it on the emergency card.

Doctors, hospitals and medicines

Know where your parent would go: the upazila health complex for the area, the district hospital or a medical college hospital for anything serious, or the private clinic and doctor they already see. Write the nearest one with an emergency department on the card.

Keep a photo of every prescription and test report. Parents can send them on WhatsApp, and they stay in one place for the next doctor.

The time difference

Bangladesh is on UTC+6 all year, half an hour ahead of India. It is five hours ahead of the UK in summer and six in winter, two hours ahead of the UAE, three ahead of Saudi Arabia and Qatar, and ten or eleven hours ahead of New York — so a 9 a.m. check-in there is usually answered before the UK wakes up, and you see it with your morning tea.

What Athnova Care does and does not do in Bangladesh

Daily WhatsApp check-in in Bangla or English, with the reply in your app.
An alert to you when they go quiet (the follow-up phone call does not reach Bangladesh yet).
Alerts to the whole family, then to the neighbour or relative you chose.
An emergency card with their address, medicines, allergies, doctor and contacts, ready to share with a hospital.
Medicine reminders, readings and reports kept in one place for the doctor.
Not offered there: lab tests and medicine refills, which we arrange in India only.

Questions families ask

Are the messages in Bangla?

Yes. The daily message, its buttons and the reminders are in Bangla (Bengali script), and replies typed in Bangla are understood. English is available too.

What is the emergency number in Bangladesh?

999, the National Emergency Service, for police, fire and ambulance. The call is free.

Is there a phone call if they do not reply?

The follow-up call does not reach Bangladesh yet, so if the message and the reminder go unanswered we alert you and your local circle straight away.

Athnova Care tracks and coordinates care. It does not diagnose, prescribe or replace a doctor. In a medical emergency in Bangladesh call 999.