32pc vacancy in health sector, high vacancy rate in Sylhet
The health sector is going through a stark workforce crisis. There are 32 per cent posts vacant in the ministry of health and family welfare starting from the top to the field level. The total number of the vacant posts stands at 77,877. The highest rate of vacancy is found to be in Sylhet as there are 40 per cent posts left vacant in this division.
This information about vacant posts in the health sector has been revealed in ‘Bangladesh Health Workforce Strategy 2024’. This strategy has been prepared by the health ministry with support from the World Health Organization (WHO). This strategy was published during an event in the capital recently.
There are total 33 categories of posts at the health ministry going down to the filed level. The total number of posts in these categories stands at 244,711. Of these, 166,834 posts are occupied while the remaining 77,877 posts are left vacant. Meaning, there are 32 per cent vacancy in the health sector.
Out of the eight divisions, Mymensingh has the lowest rate of vacancy in the country. There are total 15,976 posts in this division. Of them, 4,226 are left vacant with a vacancy rate of 26 per cent.
Meanwhile, Sylhet division has the highest rate of vacancy in the country. There are total 14,536 vacant posts in this division with 5,827 of them left vacant. That means the vacancy rate in this division is 40 per cent.
The vacancy rate is relatively higher in the nursing and midwifery categories. The rate of vacancy here is 62 per cent while, the vacancy rate among posts of physicians is 40 per cent. Apart from these, 40 per cent of the managerial posts are left vacant as well.
The service seekers, that is to say the common people or the patients, fall in trouble the most because of the vacancies. It also places extra burden of work on the others working at the ministry.
The strategy states that medicine, pediatrics, anaesthesia, gynaecology and surgeons are under pressure the most. Even the nurses have to face immense pressure as they have to perform other duties apart from nursing.
The strategy published a message from WHO representative Bardhan Jung Rana. There he said that a team of 49 health workers including physicians, nurses and midwives is required to serve every 10,000 person. That’s the global standard. However, there are only 13 health workers available for every 10,000 citizens in Bangladesh.
The WHO official added that the available workforce is not properly distributed. There is an imbalance when it comes to make health workers from different categories work together, the scopes for improvement and growth in the professional field are limited, and the workload is quite high for many. These are the long-standing challenges of the health sector, he added.