Health Minister Mohammed Nasim is set to visit Saudi Arabia and Switzerland in the upcoming days, with key issues on the agenda during his first trip abroad since taking office last month.
Sources said the minister would first fly to Saudi Arabia today on a two-day visit, where he will meet with his Saudi counterpart and other senior officials.
Nasim is also scheduled to travel to Geneva in Switzerland to attend a two-day meeting (February 10-11) on e-health standardisation at the World Health Organization (WHO).
Health Secretary MM Niazuddin told the Dhaka Tribune that both the trips by the minister are very important for Bangladesh.
He said the main agenda for the Saudi Arabia visit was to secure accreditation of different post-graduate medical education degrees (MD, MS, and FCPS) awarded by Bangladesh, which are yet to be recognised by the Saudi government.
The existing limitations bar the Bangladeshi post-graduate doctors from being accepted as specialist doctors, and force them to accept lower salaries than doctors with similar qualifications from other countries.
The health secretary expressed hopes that the Saudi government would respond positively in providing accreditation to Bangladeshi post-graduate certificates. The Saudi government would also be requested to employ more doctors and nurses from Bangladesh, he added.
Sayedul Islam, a deputy secretary (WHO section) of health ministry, told the Dhaka Tribune that necessary information regarding the quality of international standard education in Bangladesh would be provided for the Saudi authority’s consideration.
He added that on the first day of his visit, health minister Nasim would meet with senior officials of the commission that decides on the accreditation of post-graduate degrees; while holding talks with his counterpart Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Rabiah on the following day.
The agenda of the discussions would include cooperation in health sector and in medical education, sources said.
Bangladesh is also expected to request for expediting loan disbursement of cancer and ophthalmology hospital projects in the country.
Meanwhile, about the minister’s visit to the WHO meeting in Geneva, Deputy Health Secretary Sayedul said Bangladesh would highlight the successful introduction of e-health services in the country.
Bangladesh has been successfully using different software to collect use and store data, Sayedul said, adding that WHO officials will be shown how the Bangladeshi system would be helpful for other countries to exchange data between each other.
Seeking anonymity, a ministry official said Bangladesh would get a prize and official recognition from the WHO for successfully introducing e-health in the country.
