Minister praises community clinics

The Health Minister has claimed that community clinics have found a place in common people’s heart, ‘no one can shut those down.’

“Opposition BNP is threatening they will shut down community clinics (if they come to power). But they will not be able to do that. People understand that they are getting benefit of it,” A F M Ruhal Haque said on Wednesday, inaugurating a 12-episode drama for the ‘publicity’ of their flagship Community Clinics.

After assuming power in 2009, the ruling Awami League started revitalising community clinics that they set up during their regime in 1996-2001, but the BNP-led government wound them up.

The clinics were built with an aim to provide primary healthcare and ensure ‘proper’ referral of patients in rural Bangladesh.

Its Project Director Makhduma Nargis said so far they had built 12,243 clinics, one for every 6,000 people. More than 120 million patients received treatment in the last two years.

At least 30 types of medicines are being supplied free of cost.

She said they had also recruited 13,500 community healthcare providers as staff at those clinics where health and family planning directorates’ field staff also attend.

The health minister said those clinics had grown so popular that more than 200 had turned into child birth units for rural women.

He asked his ministry to take steps to make the jobs of the community healthcare providers permanent ‘as soon as possible so that they don’t lose their interest.’

The drama depicted how community clinics became ‘a success story’ with the involvement of thousands of common people.

Health Secretary M M Neazuddin appreciated the drama for the publicity of community clinics. “Health Ministry is the most successful ministry of the current government. But we lack publicity,” he lamented.