Transparency International Bangladesh
TIB: Private hospitals too expensive for Covid-19 treatment
Private hospitals charge up to Tk five lakh on an average for treatment of a corona patient as low-come middle class people are forced to go there due to shortage of ICU facilities in government hospitals.
This was revealed by a recent study of anti-graft watchdog Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) titled "Tackling Coronavirus Pandemic: Governance Challenges in COVID-19 Vaccine Management.”
Also read: Third party’s involvement behind vaccine crisis: TIB
"A large number of the population, mostly the middle class, has been forced to seek treatment at private hospitals due to lack of facilities in dedicated government Covid-19 hospitals," TIB Deputy Programme Manager Md Julkarnayeen said while presenting the results of the study on Tuesday.
Besides, the research sheds light on the fact that the rate of inclusion of low-income, rural and impoverished people has been very low in the vaccination drive largely due to lack of publicity and complicated registration process.
Also read: TIB seeks transparency in vaccine collection, distribution
The study found that around 43% of the vaccinated population have faced problems in registering.
The inclusion of women under the vaccination drive was 37%, the study said.
The TIB report said that irresponsibility and lack of coordination between government bodies have caused sufferings to expatriates returning to overseas work. They have to spend an additional Tk 60,000-70,000 each for not having a vaccination certificate.
Third party’s involvement behind vaccine crisis: TIB
The current vaccine crisis in Bangladesh has been created as the government depended on a single source for it through a third party on political considerations bowing down to the pressure of a business quarter, alleged TIB Executive director Dr Iftekharuzzaman on Tuesday.
Dr Iftekhar came up with the remark while presenting the findings of a study of Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) in an online press conference along with the members of its research team.
The study titled ‘Tackling Coronavirus Pandemic: Governance Challenges in COVID-19 Vaccine Management’ was conducted following both the qualitative and quantitative methods and by analysing data in the light of different indicators of good governance.
The TIB Executive Director said they tried to portrait the challenges in Covid vaccine activities in the light of good governance in their research.
“We found the deficit in the indicators of good governance in vaccine management activities. Especially, a third party was given the scope to get benefited by procuring vaccines in an ambiguous process by violating rules and laws,” he said.
Iftekhar said as the public representatives are involved with the third party, it cannot have any business relationship with the government since it is prohibited by the law. “Despite that, it happened and we still don’t get any explanation of it.”
“There’s a strategic deficit in procuring the vaccine. Especially, the current vaccine crisis has created dependence on a single source or institution in procuring vaccine jabs on political considerations due to the influence of a business quarter, causing stagnation in vaccine activities,” he said.
Iftekhar said the government announced to give vaccines to around 14 crore people or the 80 percent population, but no specific strategy and pragmatic framework has so far been formulated to accomplish the big challenging job.
Also read: TIB seeks transparency in vaccine collection, distribution
“Nothing is said about how the vaccines will be collected and distributed. In the budget speech, it was mentioned that 25 lakh people will be given a vaccine each month and then it’ll take more than four years. So, we think lack of a well-thought-out plan and framework is now the main deficit in this regard,” he observed.
He said the government could not ensure access to the disadvantaged people in the vaccination programme due to the lack of coordination in the implementation of it. "There's also discrimination in providing the vaccine as the registration process was adverse to the disadvantaged people."
Iftekhar said the risk of Covid infection increased in the country due to the government’s insincerity in enforcing the law to force people to maintain its guidelines and a section of people’s apathy to maintaining the health safety rules.
He said the corruption and irregularities in the health sector are going on as happened in the past.
“Purchase and procurement rules have been violated, information about illegal transaction regarding the appointment of manpower has been surfaced, work orders have been given in favour of institutions accused of graft violating rules and temporary hospitals were made without assessing the utility and those were later shut wasting crores of taka of people,” Iftekhar said.
The TIB Executive director also said the government is much more active in controlling the flow of information than in controlling corruption in the country.
“The government has been trying to control the disclosure of information since the beginning of Covid and this trend has strengthened further. “We think the government is 100-time more active in controlling the disclosure of information than in controlling the corruption,” Iftekhar said.
He said journalists and many others are being harassed by making attacks or filing cases due to the government’s tendency to control the flow of information. “We think it’s a suicidal move and the government should come out of it.”
Also read: Over half of district hospitals lack necessary equipment: TIB
Replying to a question, Iftekhar said checking corruption is surely a tough job, but not impossible only if the government has strong political will and efforts to implement it.
He said those involved in corruption must be brought to justice while the Anti-Corruption Commission must play an active and impartial role in finding out the corrupt to reduce corruption.
Md Julkarnayeen, a research fellow at TIB, said the third party was involved in vaccine import in the country without any logic. “Bangladesh bought vaccines at a higher price (US$ 5) than that of European Union countries (US$ 2.19), India (US$ 2.8), African Union (US$ 3) and Nepal (US$ 4),” he said.
Julkarnayeen said Nepal directly procured the vaccine from Serum Institute and Sri Lanka through Government Pharmaceutical Corporation.
“Excluding the cost, the third party will make a profit of around BDT 77.00 for each dose and its total profit from 3 crore doses will be BDT 231 crore. Had the government procured the vaccine directly from the Serum Institute, the money saved in each dose could have been used to buy 6.8 million more doses of the vaccine,” he said.
The TIB study recommended working out a definite action plan on how to bring 80 percent of the country’s population under vaccination within a specific period, making strong diplomatic efforts to collect the vaccines from all possible sources, allowing competent companies to produce the vaccines locally on their own initiative, making public all information about the vaccine purchase agreement, except for secrets pertinent to state affairs, reforming vaccine registration process and vaccination activities considering disadvantaged people and remote areas, setting up RT-PCR laboratories in all districts and taking steps to keep the cost of treatment for COVID-19, including ICUs in private hospitals, within the reach of people.
No Whitening of Black Money: TIB cautious in welcoming govt’s 'realisation'
Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB), the corruption watchdog, has cautiously welcomed the government's decision to discard the provision of whitening black money in the proposed budget for the next fiscal (2021-22).
Besides, the TIB is also drawing attention to the fact that this discriminatory and unconstitutional benefit should not be included in any other way out of respect to the honest taxpayers.
Also read: Provision for black money whitening to continue: Finance Minister
The TIB has expressed concern over the lack of a clear roadmap to ensure transparency and prevention of corruption in the overall budget implementation, not just the increase in allocations to critical sectors such as the health sector to control Covid.
TIB Executive Director Dr Iftekharuzzaman in a statement on Thursday night said despite strong objections and protests from all quarters, Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal allowed whitening black money in the outgoing budget.
Also read: Black money: CPD for breaking vicious circle of illicit income
“The decision of the finance minister not to renew the whitening of black money in the proposed budget for the next fiscal year can be taken as a realization of the government," he said.
The TIB Executive Director said they want to believe that the authorities will not continue this unethical benefit under the pressure of vested interests again in future, while respecting the Prime Minister's dictum of 'zero tolerance against corruption'.
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