NN Online:
BNP Senior Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi on Monday urged the interim government to take effective steps to improve healthcare services, aiming to reduce the need for people to travel abroad, particularly to India, for treatment and thus save foreign currency.
Speaking at a discussion organized by the Nurses Association of Bangladesh at the Jatiya Press Club on International Nurses Day, Rizvi questioned the rationale behind spending dollars on treatments in India. He suggested that the funds used for overseas medical expenses could be better invested in enhancing the capabilities of local doctors and nurses, thereby strengthening the domestic healthcare sector.
“If we receive quality service from our own medical professionals, there would be no reason to go abroad,” Rizvi stated, emphasizing the importance of state support in equipping healthcare workers.
He criticized the interim government’s lack of action despite discussions on various reforms, urging for well-thought-out decisions to develop education, healthcare, and social welfare services effectively.
Rizvi also proposed that the current administration could set a precedent for future governments by modernizing the health sector, including providing accommodations for at least two-thirds of nurses near every health complex to improve service delivery.
Highlighting a significant shortage of approximately 225,000 nurses in the country, he called for immediate steps to address the deficits in both nursing and medical staff to enhance healthcare quality.
Furthermore, Rizvi accused the previous Awami League government of undermining the health sector through corruption, fraud, money laundering, and various malpractices.
