It has been five months since the coronavirus outbreak in the country yet the health ministry has failed to pick up pace. It is facing a growing volley of criticism from the general people and the health experts alike. Other than forming expert committees and task forces and issuing new circulars every day, it is taking no measures to bring about any tangible improvements in the health sector.
The first coronavirus case in the country was detected on 8 March. A review of the past 5 months till 8 August shows that instead of following the recommendations of the World Health Organisaton and others, Covid testing has steadily been decreased. The test reports are not being given in time, some results coming after an entire week. In fact there are instances when the results were provided after 14 days.
Meanwhile, many patients hesitate to go hospital in fear of their lives. Beds remain vacant in hospitals selected for Covid treatment. Yet the government is pouring millions of taka into these hospitals every month.
Despite all sorts of orders and instructions to follow the rules of hygiene, more than half the people now in the marketplaces, on the streets and crowded areas are not wearing masks, not bothering to maintain social distancing. And under these circumstances, other than educational institutions, most offices and establishments are opening up on Sunday. Normal routines are being resumed.
While concerned persons in the government claim to be successful in bringing Covid under control. Johns Hopkins University’s latest reports (as of Thursday) say that in numbers of coronavirus cases, Bangladesh ranks at 15 in the world and in number of deaths, it ranks at 29. Italy and many other countries managed to bring the virus under control within three months. There are no signs of improvement in Bangladesh, even after five months.
Speaking to Prothom Alo about the cutting down or coronavirus tests, health minister Zahid Maleque told Prothom Alo, “The testing has not been lessened. Timely decisions have led to a fall in the number of coronavirus cases. Our death rate is also very low. And the people themselves are not interested in getting tested.”
Bangladesh Medical Association (BMA) is dissatisfied with the health ministry’s performance in tackling the pandemic. Secretary general of this association of physicians, Md Ehteshamul Huq Chowdhury, told Prothom Alo the ministry does not give much consideration to how to go about tackling coronavirus or about the safety of the physicians. He said, the physicians have been unhappy from the outset. They were given raincoats in the name of personal protective equipment (PPE). They had to wear those and sweat for hours while performing their duty. They were given fake N-95 masks.
The BMA secretary general went on to say, “All sorts of problems have been created over accommodation for the physicians. Action was taken again physicians who raised this issue. Now it is being said that instead of keeping them in hotels, they will be given an allowance. We do not accept this decision of the health ministry.”
Drives against fraud come to a halt
Bangladesh has set a precedence of fraudulence and forgery even during the pandemic. Criticism against the health sector steadily grows as one scam after the other unfolds. There has been the mask scam, corruption in the procurement of PPE, fraud in Covid tests, hospitals running without licence or approval and so on.
The law enforcement agencies had taken a stern stand against Regent Hospital and JKG. And then the media flashed reports of the 500-bed City Medical College Hospital in Gazipur, owned by former home minister and present member of parliament Mohiuddin Khan Alamgir, running for several years without the required permission. This made the health ministry give the matter thought and on Tuesday it sent a letter to the home ministry saying that the raids on hospitals by the law enforcement were hampering medical treatment. This was creating dissension within the hospitals.
The ministry had no idea of what is right and what is wrong so how can they take decisions! How will they pick up the pace of work?Rashid-e-Mahbub, ex-president of BMA
This letter of the health ministry has raised the question, if any one commits an offence, resorts to fraud and deception, violates the government rules or runs a hospital without government permission, why should they be let off the hook? In response to a question in this regard, health minister Zahid Maleque told Prothom Alo, “If there are any complaints against a hospital, our permission must be taken to go there. It is not right for physicians to be handcuffed and insulted during raids.”
Home minister Asaduzzaman Khan, speaking to Prothom Alo on Friday, said, “We will certainly carry out raids if we have any information. But we will inform them. They can come along with our forces, but the drives will not stop.”
In whose interests will advance permission have to be taken to carry out these drives, asked Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) executive director Iftekharuzzaman. In a video message on Friday, he said that there was a move to curb the scope that had emerged to reveal the irregularities and corruption in the health sector.
Health experts differ from the health minister’s statement. They said that anyone can be handcuffed if they commit an offence. The prime minister’s personal physician M Abdullah, speaking to Prothom Alo, said, “Many people tell me about the various problems in the ministry. I am against closing hospitals or halting the raids.”
What differences have the changes made?
Persons involved in the health sector have said just transfers and changes won’t improve the health sector. This sector is basically controlled, and even run, by a few syndicates. Unless the persons involved in these syndicates are identified and action taken against them, these incidents will simply recur.
From the very start there had been allegations against the health minister. While he remained firmly entrenched in office, two secretaries, several additional secretaries, the director general of the health directorate and a number of directors were removed from their respective posts. There was much discussion and debate about these transfers, but nothing has changed in the health sector.
So many transfers have been made, now should the minister resign? In reply to this question, health minister Zahid Maleque said, “The minister is performing well so why will he be changed? Why will he resign?”
He refuses to agree that the pace of work at the health ministry has not picked up. He said that no one is out of the purview of healthcare in Bangladesh at the moment. This requires us to make all sorts of speedy decisions.”
Many differ from the minister’s contention. BMA secretary general Ehteshamul Huq Chowdhury said that the ministry is taking decisions at its own will, carrying out transfers as it wishes. This reveals the ministry’s incompetence and lack of direction.
More words than work
Over the past five months, the health ministry has done a lot more talking than work. Several ministers claim that the government has been successful in controlling coronavirus. But in reality there has been no resolution to the disorder and incompetence in tackling the virus that was marked from the outset.
Bangladesh had plenty of time to prepare to face the pandemic, said health experts, but failed to put that time to use. There is still a lack of preparation and coordination, they contend.
Speaking to Prothom Alo, chairman of the national committee for the health rights movement and former president of BMA, Rashid-e-Mahbub said the ministry had no idea of what is right and what is wrong so how can they take decisions! How will they pick up the pace of work? He thinks that there has long been a lack of coordination in the health sector. Now there is a sense of restlessness. Decisions should not be taken without consulting the technical committees. Those coming to the health sector just look after their own interests.
* This report, originally published in the print edition of Prothom Alo, has been rewritten in English by Ayesha Kabir