The High Court on Wednesday wanted to learn of the progress of implementing the 25-point recommendation made by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) to curb corruption and irregularities in the country’s health sector.
The bench of Justice M Enayetur Rahim and Justice Md Mostafizur Rahman came up with the order after hearing a writ petition filed in this regard.
The court ordered the authorities concerned to submit a report before the court about the progress and steps taken following the ACC recommendations within the next 60 days.
Earlier on Sunday, a writ petition was filed with the High Court seeking its directives to the Ministry of Health to implement the 25-point recommendation of the ACC.
Advocate Ishrat Hasan and Advocate Md Aminur Rahman Chowdhury filed the writ petition with a media report annexed in this regard.
Two secretaries of the health ministry, director general of Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), and six others have been made respondents to the writ.
The writ petition sought a directive to submit in the form of a report to the court on what actions had been taken about the recommendations.
On January 31 last year, ACC after a long inquiry into the health sector identified 11 areas of corruption and prepared a set of 25 recommendations to stop it.
ACC Commissioner Dr Mozammel Haque Khan handed over the report to Health and Family Welfare Minister Zahid Maleque regarding corruption in the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
The ACC had come up with 25 recommendations to stop the corruption such as showing citizen charter, inclusion of members from specialized organization in receiving health accessories, following e-government procurement (EGP) tender process regarding purchase, conduct inquiry for giving approval of setting up diagnostic centers and private hospitals, formulating policy for recruitment, making compulsory to write generic number instead of medicine name in the prescription, and increasing internship period to two years from one.
The report identified various pockets of corruption in the health sector including in purchases, recruitments, promotions, transfers, assignments, medical treatment, use of medical equipment, and supply of medicines.
However, as the recommendations were not implemented, several media reports were published in this regard.
