Health and Family Welfare Minister Sardar Md. Sakhawat Husain on Tuesday said the government will review any allegation related to COVID-19 vaccine procurement and take necessary action if such complaint is lodged.

“No complaint has been lodged yet with regarding COVID-19 vaccine procurement. The government is  committed to ensuring transparency and accountability. If any specific information or allegation is received, it will be properly reviewed and necessary action will be taken,” he said.

Replying to a tabled starred question from treasury bench member elected Feni-2 Joynal Abedin, the health minister said that from FY2020-21 to date, the government allocated Tk 4,685.22 crore to import and procure COVID-19 vaccines and related equipment to tackle the pandemic.

Of the total allocation, he said, Tk 4,394.08 crore was spent on vaccine procurement, Tk 30.88 crore on procurement of syringes, Tk 19.57 crore crore on transportation of vaccines and syringes across the country, and Tk 99.78 lakh on syringe shipping charges.

Responding to another starred tabled question placed by treasury bench member elected from Naogaon-4 Ikramul Bari Tipu the minister said necessary initiatives are being taken to recruit some 100,000 health workers in line with the current government’s election manifesto.

The minister said the government has been working relentlessly to ensure adequate manpower to improve the quality of healthcare services and maintain continuity in service delivery across the country.

He informed the House that on January 22 this year, a total of 2,984 assistant surgeons and 279 dental surgeons were recruited through the 48th BCS, while 98 assistant surgeons (MBBS) and 22 dental surgeons were appointed through the 44th BCS. Earlier, on December 18 last year, 162 assistant surgeons (MBBS doctors) were appointed through the 27th BCS.