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Health Minister formally announces National Health Policy

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November 14, 2000 

Dhaka-- (UNB) – Health Minister Sheikh Fazlul Karim Selim yesterday formally announced the National Health Policy envisaging health services to all and developing nutritional status of the poor.

Explaining the main features of the policy the Minister told a press conference here this afternoon that basic materials of treatment would be made available to the poorer section of the people at all levels, including upazila and union.

The policy envisages facilities for satisfactory treatment of all complicated diseases within the country, thus limiting necessities for going abroad.

The Minister said measures would be taken to bring down child and maternal mortality to an acceptable level by next five years. Full time doctors and nurses would be made available in all the hospitals and adequate medicines and equipment would be supplied.

He said the policy envisages quality and satisfactory treatment in all the government hospitals and health complexes and strengthening management for proper utilization of the facilities.

“We will take up programme on the basis of the National Health Policy. But it cannot be said specifically when it will be implemented for we have scarcity of manpower and necessary infrastructure,” the Minister told a correspondent and added “hopefully we will reach a suitable position by next five year,”

The Minister admitted lack of infrastructure and inadequate manpower. The number of doctors in government hospitals and health complexes now stood at about 28,000. Posts of doctors and nurses in some hospitals are lying vacant in the absence of appropriate candidate. Four thousand nurses have been recruited and another 2000 will be taken shortly, he said.

He also admitted inadequacy of trained physicians, teachers and nurses, which is a major obstacle now for implementing the health policy. It needs cooperation of all sections of the people to implement the health policy and overcome the problems, he said.

Replying to a question the Minister said, the policy was just a guideline. Any suggestion to improve it would be accepted. “We are not saying that we will overflow health services by this health policy.”

He said there was no direction in the health sector as there was no national health policy in the country since its independence. So, the health policy was taken up for planned steps.

Replying to another question the Minister said, appropriate method would be developed for ensuring and strengthening accountability of all involved in the health service. If necessary, legal action will have to be taken in the case of negligence of duty.

Asked about increased number of people going abroad for treatment Sheikh Selim said the trend could not be checked overnight as there were many factors involved behind it.

State Minister for Health Prof M Amanulla, Health Secretary Syed Alamgir Farooq Chowdhury, Additional Secretary Dhiraj Kumar Nath, DG Health ABM Ahsanullah and Mommad Moniruzzman DG Family Planning were, among others, present at the press conference.