Credentials and experience
- 10+ years editing and fact-checking health and public-information content in Bangladesh
- Checks every guide against the official portal, DGHS, WHO and UNICEF
- Maintains the source list and correction log for each guide
- Leads scheduled re-reviews when official processes or guidance change
- Editorial role only: not a medical professional and does not give medical advice
Background
Arif Hossain is the health content editor at Surokkha Guide. He has more than ten years of experience editing and fact-checking health and public-information material in Bangladesh, including leaflets, explainers and web pages written for a general audience. His work has always sat between the people who publish official guidance and the people who have to act on it: taking long, technical documents and making sure a shorter, plainer version still says the same thing.
Arif is not a medical professional. He does not diagnose, treat or advise anyone, and his role at Surokkha Guide is editorial. That distinction matters on a website about vaccination, and we would rather state it clearly than leave readers to guess.
What he checks
Arif fact-checks every guide on Surokkha Guide before it is published and each time it is re-reviewed or substantially updated. His checks cover:
- Descriptions of how registration, certificate downloads, corrections and verification generally work, compared with what the official portal at surokkha.gov.bd currently shows.
- Statements about vaccines, schedules and eligibility in our immunization and adult vaccination guides, compared with published guidance from DGHS, the World Health Organization and UNICEF.
- Travel-health statements in our travel and migrant worker guides, compared with public travel-health information such as the CDC's traveller pages.
- Every link in each guide's Sources section, to confirm it still works and still supports the sentence it is attached to.
How he works
Arif reads each draft sentence by sentence and asks one question of every factual claim: which source says this, and does the source really say it? If he cannot match a claim to an official or authoritative source, it is rewritten in more general terms or removed. He looks for four things in particular:
- Source support: is each statement backed by the official portal, DGHS, WHO, UNICEF or another recognised public-health body?
- Currency: has the official process or guidance changed since the guide was last checked?
- Cautious framing: does the guide avoid reading like a personal recommendation, and does it send readers to a qualified doctor or health worker whenever an individual decision is involved?
- Clarity: would a reader using English as a second language, on a phone, understand what to do next?
Guides he has checked carry a "Fact-checked by Arif Hossain, Health Content Editor" line and a "Last reviewed" date. Our full process is described in how we review and research our guides.
What fact-checking is, and is not
Fact-checking confirms that a guide accurately reflects published official and public-health sources. It is not a medical review, and Surokkha Guide's articles are not currently reviewed by a medical professional. We plan to add a qualified clinical reviewer in future, and if we do, we will say so clearly on each guide and on this page.
Until then, please treat everything on this website as general information. Arif cannot answer personal medical questions, and the team cannot pass them on to anyone who can. For decisions about your own vaccinations or your child's, speak to a qualified doctor, nurse or health worker. If you have a severe reaction after a vaccine, or any medical emergency, seek urgent care immediately.
If you think something in one of our guides is inaccurate or out of date, email hello@surokkha.app with the page address and, if possible, a link to the source. Arif handles these reports under our fact-checking policy. See our disclaimer for more.
