BSS :
Community Clinic, a brainchild programme of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, is now recognized worldwide as a unique model of healthcare for marginal people.
The international community, including the World Health Organization (WHO), has demanded international recognition of this model of health care in Bangladesh.
Community Clinic Programme Manager Dr Asif Iqbal told BSS that the community clinic is an initiative planned by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina launched this unique community clinic-based health system in Bangladesh in 1998 with the aim of bringing all the people of Bangladesh under primary healthcare, which has made a revolution in delivering the benefits of government primary healthcare at the doorsteps of the people at grassroots, he said.
In these community clinics, 30 types of free medicines are given to patients, he added.
Dr Asif said that the community clinics were built on the land of the local people with the money of the government and the clinics are run by local people.
That’s why awareness has been created among the locals about the services of the community clinic as well as they also play a role in maintaining the quality of the services, he mentioned.
In 2018, the government formulated the Community Clinic Health Assistance Trust Act with the aim of bringing primary healthcare to the doorsteps of the rural people of the country with the cooperation of social organizations, private individuals and institutions, said the programme manager.
He said now this model of providing health services to the rural population through public-private partnership has gained reputation worldwide.
Community clinics also create health awareness and provide health education to rural people, he said, adding that it is also playing an important role for women empowerment.
