The government is preparing a list of all non-cadre healthcare workers, working under different ministries, likely to move them to the frontline fight against the deteriorating coronavirus situation in Bangladesh.
Amid the rising trend of Covid-19 cases, the Ministry of Public Administration issued a letter in this regard on Tuesday, after they received a verbal directive conveyed by the principal secretary to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
When contacted on Thursday, Habibur Rahman Khan, additional secretary at the Health Services Division under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, said he was assuming the list had been requested to recruit the non-cadre healthcare workers to provide medical care in different fields, since the Covid-19 situation is intensifying in Bangladesh and the health sector needs more hands.
"The number of Covid-19 patients is increasing in Bangladesh, and we need all hands to provide medical care for them," he said.
He further added that he did not see any other reason for making such a list during the pandemic.
However, he also acknowledged that nothing had been officially announced yet over the matter.
The letter asked for the number of posts sanctioned for non-cadre medical officers, nurses and other healthcare workers, the number of vacancies, and the healthcare workers who are already in office.
The Ministry of Public Administration requested the ministries concerned to send both hard copies of the lists to them, and send the soft copies via email. The deadline to send the lists ended on Thursday.
The letter, signed by Deputy Secretary Mohammad Kamal Hossen, said: "Information about all non-cadre medical officers, nurses and other healthcare workers working in different ministries is requested to be listed on the table attached. Their photos are required as well. Both soft and hard copies are needed by April 23 [Thursday]."
When asked about it, Kamal Hossen told Dhaka Tribune that he wasn’t aware why the list had been requested.
"Although the deadline was on April 23, we have received information from half of the ministries so far. We hope to get information from all ministries by Sunday."
Once the Ministry of Public Administration gets the data, it will forward those to the Prime Minister's Office (PMO), he added.
The copies of the letter have been sent to the rector of Bangladesh Public Administration Training Centre, rector of Bangladesh Civil Service Administration Academy, director general of Bangladesh Employees' Welfare Board, director general of Department of Printing and Publications, director general of Bangladesh Institute of Administration and Management (BIAM) Foundation, director of Government Employees' Hospital, and transport commissioner of the Department of Government Transport.
As of Thursday, Bangladesh has recorded 127 deaths amid 4,186 confirmed cases of Covid-19.
