Foundation for disabled: Residence facility unused due to staff shortage

Asaduzzaman Mamun, a resident of Bagerhat, was diagnosed with a rare as well as critical disease called Neuromyelitis Optica (NMO) in 2014. It left both his hands and legs paralysed.

Initially, he received treatment in several private hospitals in Dhaka. Later, financial constraints prompted him to seek physiotherapy services from the national foundation for development of disabled persons in the capital's Mirpur area.

For the past 10 years, Asaduzzaman has been traveling from Bagerhat to Dhaka on particular days to receive therapy. Since the foundation does not offer residential services, he has to return home the same day after therapy.

The foundation has arrangements for residential facilities, but this remains inaccessible to patients. In 2019, a 15-storey building was constructed for the foundation, with the fifth and sixth floors designated to provide residential facilities for disabled individuals. But the service could not be initiated despite the installation of all necessary equipment and resources.

During a visit to the foundation on 13 October, a total of 60 beds designated for patients with disabilities were found unused on the fifth floor. Cupboards, tables, chairs, fans, and other equipment were also lying there unused. The sixth floor, which is meant for additional residential space, was being used as a store room for the foundation.

Multiple officials, speaking anonymously, said all arrangements for the residential facility have been made, but the service has not been initiated, even in five years. The equipment remains unused, with no regular maintenance.

The foundation, established in 1999, operates under the ministry of social welfare. In 2019, it spent a total of Tk 50 million to procure various equipment for the residential service.

According to officials, the facility requires adequate manpower, including physicians, physiotherapists, office assistants, and other support staff, to begin the service.

Azmul Haque, the foundation’s director of planning, development, and information technology and a joint secretary, cited the manpower shortage as the main reason for the lack of residential services.

He explained that the authorities could not recruit staff due to the absence of necessary regulations. “Work on finalising regulations is underway. Once the organogram is approved, it will be possible to recruit manpower and begin the service within a year," he added.

Another official, requesting anonymity, said a maximum of ten employees would suffice to start the residential service. The foundation has 103 centers across the country, and he suggested that manpower from these centers could be temporarily reassigned to initiate the residential service.

Besides, physicians and physiotherapists could be brought in from other facilities, but there has been little effort to do so, he added.

However, Azmul Haque countered that there is a manpower shortage in all 103 centers, and it is too tough to reassign staff from there.

There were efforts to upgrade the foundation to a directorate level in 2010, but it did not happen eventually. In 2013, a clearance was issued under the name, the department of development of disabilities. Further discussions were held at the secretary committee on administrative development, but there was no significant progress in the process.

According to sources within the foundation, a number of officials oppose the upgradation of the foundation, as it would require them to relocate to field-level positions.

Expressing disappointment over the service, Asaduzzaman Mamun said many people, like him, travel long distances to avail services at the foundation, but have to leave on the same day due to the lack of residential services.

He urged quick action to begin the residential facility and mitigate their sufferings.