Health sector rife with anomalies

Massive corruption and irregularities continuing for long in the country’s health sector are surfacing one after another amid increased anti-graft drives in the sector. 
Rights activists have long been demanding steps to streamline the sector and reform agencies concerned to check corruption in the crucial public service sector. 
In the latest move, Anti-Corruption Commission on Wednesday sent a letter to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare asking it to transfer 23 officials of Directorate General of Health Services immediately on their suspected links with accumulation of wealth through corruption.
The letter, signed by ACC secretary (current charge) Muhammad Munir Chowdhury, was sent to the ministry through a special bearer, said ACC officials.
The letter mentions that a section of DGHS officials has built a nexus committing corruption and irregularities as they have been in their respective office for a long time.
It says that the commission intelligence unit has found that they accumulated huge wealth illegally and a good number of complaints have also been filed with the commission against the 23 officials.
‘ACC wants immediate transfer of the officials to prevent corruption and the commission will continue its probe against the suspects,’ the letter adds.
It has also asked the ministry to inform the commission about its action against the people.
The 23 officials are assistant chief for statistics of DGHS’s health wing director office of Dhaka Meer Rayhan Ali, administrative officer M Faruk Hasan, chief assistant M Sazedul Karim and upper division clerks M Taibur Rahman and Saiful Islam; chief assistant of DGHS’s health wing director office of Chattogram M Mahfuzul Haque, upper division clerk M Faizur Rahman and steno typist cum computer operator M Azmal Khan; chief of assistant cum accountant of DGHS’s health wing director office of Mymensingh M Abdul Kuddus and administrative officer M Mustafizur Rahman; chief assistant of DGHS’s health wing director office of Sylhet M Nurul Haque, administrative officer M Gaus Ahmed, upper division clerk Aman Ahmed and office assistant cum computer operator Nesar Ahmed Chowdhury; chief assistant of DGHS’s health wing director office of Khulna M Anowar Hossain, personal assistant Farid Hossain and office assistant M Masum; chief assistant of DGHS’s health wing director office of Barishal Rahat Khan and its upper division clerk M Jewel; administrative officer of DGHS’s health wing director office of Rangpur M Jahangir Alam, stenographer M Saiful Islam and upper division clerk M Azizur Rahman.
The ACC initiated the move a day after a special court on Tuesday ordered the authorities concerned to freeze property of Abzal Hossain and his wife Rubina Khanam for allegedly amassing a huge amount of wealth illegally.
Abzal is an administrative officer of Institute of Health Technology and his wife a stenographer of Medical Education and Health Manpower Development project under Directorate General of Health Services.
The move came after Anti-Corruption Commission appealed to the court to attach the couple’s immoveable property and freeze moveable ones, saying that they were now trying to sell off their property to evade trial. They might also try to flee the country, it said.
Earlier on January 21, ACC found 40 per cent physicians absent from their workplaces at public hospitals and health centres.
Enforcement teams of the commission revealed the information after conducting unscheduled drives at 11 public hospitals and health centres in eight districts.
The commission teams found 92 of 230 doctors present at the public hospitals and health centres between 9:00am and 2:00pm on the day.
Absence of doctors from the workplace is considered a major irregularity in the public sector health services in the country, which deprives patients of proper healthcare.
According to the ACC officials, it is planning to send some recommendations to the ministry soon for reducing corruption.
The recommendations include allowing no doctor to work at a station for more than three years, fixing fees for doctors at private hospitals, clinics and chambers, fixing charges for laboratory tests at private clinics, hospitals and laboratories, ensuring proper monitoring and setting up closed-circuit television cameras at hospitals to prevent brokers from leading away patients to private hospitals and shutting down pharmaceutical companies producing substandard drugs.
About the absent of physicians, health ministry additional secretary Bablu Kumar Saha told New Age that the ministry should take action against the people following the ACC letter.
Bangladesh Health Rights Movement president Rashid-e-Mahbub said that the ministry failed to ensure its surveillance in the sector.
He said that the health sector needed a major revamping to stop such wholesale corruption and irregularities from the sector.
He urged the authorities to take punitive steps stopping blame game.
Transparency International Bangladesh trustee M Hafizuddin Khan urged the corruption watchdog to take action against the controlling authorities of the physicians and employees.
He suspects corruption on the highest scale in the country’s health sector.

News Courtesy: www.newagebd.net