The number of patients, infected with dengue, is five times higher than previous year in the past five months, said Bangladesh's Health Minister Zahid Maleque on Monday (May 29, 2023). “A total of 1704 people have been infected with dengue in the past five months till May 28 and during this period 13 people died,” he said while speaking at a press briefing over Covid-19 vaccine at the Secretariat. The Director General of Health Services has taken steps to control dengue as the authorities concerned are conducting dengue surveys and reports of the survey have been submitted to the two city corporations, he said. Already a separate ward and corner has been created for dengue patients in hospitals and 2500 physicians and nurses were given training to tackle dengue, he added. Also read: Dengue numbers keep rising: 72 more cases reported “We have engaged different people including teachers, students and military personnel to make people aware about dengue. Already, steps have been taken to make people aware through posters, banners and advertisements in televisions,” he said. He also urged all to keep their respective houses clean, keep spraying chemicals for eliminating mosquitoes and maintain a healthy life. Talking about the Covid-19 vaccine, the minister said already 30 lakh doses of variant containing vaccines (VCV) under COVAX facilities reached in Bangladesh and it will be administered as 3rd and 4th dose to the people from this week in all city corporations, districts, upazilas and municipality levels across the country, he said. About 88.51% people have been brought under the first dose, 82.18 % under the second dose, 39.62% under 3rd dose and 1.85% under 4th dose, said Maleque. Also read: 80pc people to be vaccinated by March: Zahid Maleque There are no side effects in VCV vaccination and the World Health Organisation (WHO) also gave a positive opinion about it, claimed the minister. The 3rd dose will be administered to people above 18 years while the 4th dose will be given to the people above 60 years or people who have been suffering from long-term diseases, pregnant women and frontline fighters, he said. The 3rd dose will be given after four months of receiving the second dose while the 4th dose will be given four months after receiving the 3rd dose, he added. Prof Abul Bashar Mohammad Khurshid Alam, director general of the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), Nazmul Haque Khan, additional secretary (hospital) and high officials of the ministry were present there. Read more: Dengue cases surge: 46 patients hospitalised in 24 hrs

Doctors in 10 district government hospitals and 20 upazila hospitals will be allowed to see patients in their respective institutions after office hours from March 30, said Health Minister Zahid Maleque on Monday. “As a pilot project it will be introduced in 10 district hospitals and 20 upazila level hospitals initially. Doctors will be allowed to run private practice by rotation from 3 pm to 6 pm,” the minister said while talking to reporters at the secretariat. Also read: Vaccine drive to prevent cervical cancer from September: Health Minister The project will be introduced in all government hospitals gradually, he said. However, the government has also fixed Tk 500 as honorarium for senior professors under the project, Tk 400 for assistant professors and senior consultants, Tk 300 for assistant professors and junior consultants, and Tk 200 for physicians having MBBS and BDA.  

The government will start Vitamin A plus campaign across the country on Monday with a target to provide Vitamin A plus capsule to 2,20 crore children, said Health Minister Zahid Maleque on Sunday. Under the programme, 25 lakh children aged between 6 to 11 months will be fed blue colour A plus capsule while 1.95 crore children aged between 12 to 59 months will be fed red colour capsule, he said while speaking at a programme at the Ministry. The government started the Vitamin A plus campaign in 2010 and children are fed the capsule twice a year, he said adding “Now only 0.04% children are affected with the night blindness disease due to Vitamin A deficiency.” Already the capsule has been sent to the central drug store, districts, city corporations and publicity about the progrmame has been launched through private and government TV channels and national dailies, he said. Also read: Vaccine drive to prevent cervical cancer from September: Health Minister A total of 2.40 lakh volunteers will work at 1.20 lakh centres while 40,000 health workers will participate in the campaign, said the minister.  

Activities of five medical colleges have been suspended and approval of one medical college has been revoked for not conducting quality education as per law and policy. Health Minister Zahid Maleque came up with the information at parliament on Sunday in reply to a tabled question from Jatiya Party MP Moshiur Rahman Ranga. The minister said that there are currently 76 private medical colleges including five run by the army in the country. The suspended private medical colleges are Nightingale Medical College, Ashulia, Dhaka (50 seats), Northern International Medical College, Dhaka (75 seats), Northern Private Medical College, Rangpur (80 seats), and Shah Makhdoom Medical College, Rajshahi (50 seats). However, the minister did not mention the name of the medical college that lost approval. Meanwhile, State Minister for Shipping Khalid Mahmud Chowdhury told parliament that the operation of Matarbari deep sea port can be started in 2026. He said that the Matarbari port development project was taken at an estimated cost of Tk 17777.20 crore to establish the country's first deep sea port. Also read: Ctg Shahi Jame Masjid Bill 2023 passes in parliament The duration of this project is till December 31, 2026. In reply to a query from ruling Awami League MP Kazim Uddin Ahmed, the junior minister said at present tenders have been invited in three packages for construction of 460 m long container jetty and 300m long multipurpose jetty and construction of all port facilities including container yard. He said it is expected that the construction work of jetty and container yard can be started by next July.  

Cox's Bazar Sadar Hospital will be turned to a 500-bed one from 250 beds to provide better health care to the Rohingya population and rising tourists, said Health Minister Zahid Maleque on Thursday. Besides, arrangements will be made to provide dialysis service at the hospital, said the minister. He was speaking at the inauguration of the newly built "Dr. Abdur Nur Bulbul Bhaban" at Cox's Bazar Sadar Hospital, a joint initiative of Bangladesh Government and UNHCR. Read more: Govt to issue health cards for all: Health Minister Although Cox's Bazar currently has a 250-bed Sadar hospital, 600-700 patients receive health care there every day, he said. “Patients are receiving treatment staying on the hospital floor as well. That’s why it is important to increase the number of beds in this hospital.” He said if this three-storied hospital can be turned into a 10-storied one , it will be possible better health services to   28 lakh local people and tourists. Read more: No unauthorised clinics in Dhaka city, health minister tells JS

Health Minister Zahid Maleque has said that the ongoing drive against illegal healthcare facilities in Bangladesh will continue so that no one can do business with peoples’ lives. The minister said this after visiting Rajshahi Sadar Hospital on Thursday (September 15, 2022) morning. “We won’t let any healthcare facility operate if they don’t provide services in a proper way,” the Minister said. Also read: Health minister places icddr,b bill in Parliament Replying to a question, Zahid added that those healthcare facilities which have been closed will remain so until they use proper medical accessories and manpower. “According to the government’s rule, no healthcare facility can operate without licenses. Till now, we’ve closed down around 2,000 hospitals and clinics due to not having licenses. We have some conditions that the healthcare facilities will have to follow if they want to continue their operation,” the minister added. About Rajshahi Sadar Hospital, Zahid said that he has found a shortage of manpower there and will address the issues through outsourcing and recruitment. Also read: Pharmacies in Dhaka to remain open all day: Health Minister Besides, the minister has also assured of upward expansion of the hospital building so that the hospital can accommodate a large number of patients.

Children aged between five and 12 will be vaccinated against Covid-19 soon, said Health Minister Zahid Maleque on Tuesday. Birth certificate is required to get registered for Covid vaccine, he said. He was speaking at the inaugural and certificate distribution ceremony of the "Certificate Course on Neurodevelopment Disorder" organised by the Institute of Paediatric Neurodisorder & Autism (IPNA) at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU). Read:Children aged 5-12 to be vaccinated by June: Health Minister “Although several countries of the world have started vaccinating their children, we have not yet been able to vaccinate children. Because, we didn’t receive approval from the World Health Organization (WHO),” he said. “Now we have got the approval, so we will start the programme very soon.” He said they have also received the suitable vaccine for children. There are about 1.5 crore children and it will take time to vaccinate them all. “So get your children registered fast to get them vaccinated,” he urged the parents. The minister said they have a plan to manufacture vaccine in the country and already selected a land in Gopalganj in this regard. “We will manufacture all the vaccines there.”

Sangsad Bhaban, Jun 20 (UNB)- The government plans to set up burn units in five divisional medical colleges and hospitals in the country with Saudi Arabian funding. Health Minister Zahid Maleque said this in Parliament on Monday, responding to a tabled question from ruling Awami League MP elected from Chattogram M Abdul Latif. The five burn units would be set up in Sylhet, Rajshahi, Rangpur, Barisal and Faridpur. The health minister said the project will be implemented from July 2022 to June 2025. The project was approved at the ECNEC meeting on December 7 last year. “In addition, a 100-bed burn unit will be set up at Chittagong Medical College Hospital with funding from the Chinese government." He said that project was taken to set up a burn unit in Mymensingh district and Khulna district under the fourth sector program. In reply to a query from opposition BNP MP elected from Chapainawabganj Aminul Islam, the health minister told Parliament that mobile courts of Directorate General of Drug Administration (DGDA) had cancelled the  registration of 136 commercial drugs in 2021 due to non-compliance and other irregularities. The minister also said that the licenses of 49 drug manufacturing companies have been suspended during this period. Besides, production and marketing of all types of medicines of 14 pharmaceutical companies have been suspended in 2021. At this time, 2036 cases have been filed in the mobile court run by the DGDA and a fine of Tk 2.67 crore has been realized on charge of producing and marketing fake, contaminated and unregistered medicine.    In response to another query from M Abdul Latif,  the Health Minister said that if any sick person is taken to the hospital or clinic or doctors, then there is no chance of refusing to provide emergency medical services to that person. “Strict guidelines have been issued to all government and private hospitals and clinics by the Department of Health under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare in this regard and regular supervision is being carried out by the Department of Health in this regard,” he added. Replying to a question by BNP MP elected from Bogura Gulam Mohammad Siraj, the health minister said that steps would be taken to introduce separate units in government hospitals in all districts to provide medical services to drug addicts in future.  END/UNB/FF/ssk/2318

Bangladesh has been the largest recipient of Covid-19 vaccines worth about Tk 20,000 crore free from the World Health Organization (WHO), said Health Minister Zahid Maleque on Wednesday. “At the same time, we have been able to vaccinate about 98 per cent people of the targeted population against Covid-19 in the country, which is about 75 per cent of the total population,” the minister said this while addressing a meeting of Awami League members at Manikganj district on the occasion of Eid-ul-Fitr. Also read: Children aged 5-12 to be vaccinated by June: Health Minister “By the grace of Allah, under the guidance of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, we have been able to control Covid situation today,” he said.  Maleque further said this time Eid is being celebrated in full swing in the country following continuous downtrend in the Covid infection rate due to the mass vaccination. Also read:Ensure wearing masks, social distance, health guidelines amid Covid surge in world: NTAC He said, “The country's economy is moving on with six per cent GDP growth.” In countries where Covid situation is out of control, the economy is in recession, he said. “Bangladesh is one of the countries with the strongest economy in the world,” he added.

The results of the 2021-22 admission test for the MBBS course at the country’s public and private medical colleges have been published. Health Minister Zahid Maleque announced the results at a press briefing held at the health directorate on Tuesday noon. Also read:MBBS admission test held Friday A total of 79,337 candidates (55.13 per cent), 44,504 (56.09 %) girls and 34,833 (43.91%) boys, passed the test this year, nearly seven times the number of available seats. There are a total of 10,839 seats, including 4,350 at 37 public medical colleges and 6,489 at 72 private medical colleges, across the country. The results are available on the DGHS site. Also read:HC turns down writ seeking cancellation of MBBS admission test results A total of 139,742 aspirants took the admission test this year, held at 57 venues across 19 centers on April 1. The successful candidates will get the chance to get enrolled first at public medical colleges and then at private ones on the basis of merit.