Talking about the troubled state of the country’s health sector, several lawmakers of the opposition parties severely criticized Health Minister Zahid Maleque, and demanded his removal from the office.
The MPs raised the demand on Tuesday at the Bangladesh Parliament while discussing the retrenchment proposal.
Jatiyo Party lawmaker Mujibul Haque (Kishoreganj 3) said the coronavirus situation in the country would not have turned so critical had the Health Ministry taken any effective initiative to tackle the situation, reports UNB.
The personal protective equipment (PPE) given to doctors and nurses are of low quality, he added.
Criticizing the services provided by public hospitals, Mujibul asked the prime minister to issue a directive so that no minister, MP, or government official can receive treatment from hospitals other than the government ones.
Mujibul Haque (Chunnu) demanded that private hospitals be brought under accountability, too.
BNP MP Harunur Rashid (Chapainawabganj 3) said the coronavirus infection rate in Bangladesh is one of the highest in the world, but the country is carrying out a small number of daily tests.
He said: “It’s the big weakness in our health sector that we have various infrastructures in the government hospitals at the division, district, and upazila levels but the number of technologists is so limited that people who go to the hospitals for treatment after 12:00pm do not get the test facility.”
“Therefore, the number of technologists will have to be increased so that poor people can avail 24-hour test facilities,” Harun said.
The BNP lawmaker said there is no way to deny the fact that Bangladesh’s entire medical system has totally become dependent on India.
“In the last 10 years, over ten million people went to India for treatment,” he said.
Jatiyo Party MP Pir Fazlur Rahman (Sunamganj 4) urged the prime minister to replace the incumbent Health Minister Zahid Maleque with Begum Matia Chowdhury.
Another Jatiyo Party MP, Shameem Haider Patwary (Gaibandha 1), demanded the preparation of basic health database of every citizen of the country, and recruitment of an adequate number of medical technologists.
Jatiyo Party lawmaker Kazi Firoz Rashid (Dhaka 6) said there is no coordination between the ministry and the Directorate General of Health Services to deal with the coronavirus crisis.
Rowshan Ara Mannan (Women Seat 47) said the health sector should be given the highest priority to deal with the situation.