The government will issue health ID cards for every Bangladeshi, said Health and Family Welfare Minister Zahid Maleque on Tuesday .  The minister said this while speaking at the ‘BSRF Dialogue’ organized by Bangladesh Secretariat Reporters Forum (BSRF) at the Media Center at the Secretariat. He said the DPP (development project proposal) regarding this has been submitted to the Planning Commission. “I also talked to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina regarding this and am waiting for her approval,” he added. Also Read: No unauthorised clinics in Dhaka city, health minister tells JS He said  the health cards will contain of all necessary medical records of a patient. He said the newly inaugurated Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU) Super Specialized Hospital will start full-scale operations on January 23. “During my tenure, hospital beds were increased from 21 to 50 in 30 hospitals and from 50 to 100 in another five. In the last four years, seven medical assistance training centers and five medical colleges have been established. Projects for another five medical colleges are ongoing,” he said. BSRF president Tapan Biswas presided over the dialogue while its secretary Masudul Haq moderated it.  

Citizens aged above 60 will get the fourth dose of Covid-19 vaccine,  said Health Minister Zahid Maleque on Monday. Prime Minister Shiekh Hasina approved it and people can get vaccinated  during the ongoing seven-day campaign from any centre, the minister told reporters at the Secretariat. Read more: 7-day Covid-19 vaccination campaign kicks off Thursday Around 98 percent of the adult people have jabbed against the Covid-19, he said. “Besides, students are also being administered with the vaccine.” So far, 14 crore people have been vaccinated with the first dose while more than 12 crore people with the second dose and six crore with the booster dose against Covid-19, he added. Earlier, the National Technical Advisory Committee (NTAC) on Covid-19 recommended administering the fourth dose of Covid vaccine to contain the further spread of the virus, said Dr Shamsul Haque, director of the vaccination program of the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), on November 30. Read more: COVID-19: US vaccine donations to Bangladesh exceed 100 million It recommended bringing front liners, citizens aged above 60 and the pregnant women under the fourth dose vaccination progamme in the first phase, he said. The seven-day special vaccination campaign against Covid-19 was launched on December 1 that will end December 7. Around 90 lakh people will be vaccinated under this campaign where 17,116 teams will provide the service.

BNP is trying to mislead people by spreading rumours of a reserve crisis, said Health Minister Zahid Maleque on Sunday. “They (BNP) are involved in misleading people by spreading different rumours about the reserve crisis and showing a temporary power crisis as well as trying to put the development works of the government under doubt,” he said. The health minister said this while speaking at a programme on the ‘8th international Homeopathy Science Conference-2022’ organised by Centre for Advanced Studies in Homeopathy, held at the conference room of Institution of Diploma Engineers, Bangladesh (IEDB). Criticising BNP, Maleque said BNP is spreading rumours by saying that Bangladesh is in a reserve crisis but actually Bangladesh's forex reserves now stand at $34.3 billion while it was only $3 billion during the tenure of BNP. During the tenure of BNP, only 4000 MW of power was generated but now Bangladesh is producing 24,000 MW of power under the Sheikh Hasina-led government, he added. Besides, there is no shortage of food while hundreds of young people are now working, reducing the unemployment status, said the minister. “Bangladesh is now moving towards a self-sufficient position with the development of hundreds of projects including Padma Bridge and Metrorail but BNP does not see anything good in Bangladesh,” he said. Admiring the homeopathy treatment in Bangladesh, the minister stressed the need for appointing Homeopathic physicians in all hospitals across the country. “There is no side-effect in Homeopathic treatment and the demand of the treatment is on a rising trend.”  

The government will launch another special vaccination campaign against Covid-19, marking the country’s Victory Day, said the Health Minister Zahid Maleque on Tuesday. The campaign will start from December 1 and end on December 7, he said in an event marking World Antibacterial Week at a city hotel. Read more: COVID-19: US vaccine donations to Bangladesh exceed 100 million Around 90 lakh people will be vaccinated under this campaign, he added. “We have been successful in our previous campaigns. Hopefully this one will be successful too,” said the minister. Read more: Campaign for 1st, 2nd doses of Covid vaccine to continue till Oct 8: DGHS So far, 14.69 crore people have been vaccinated with the first dose while more than 12 crore people with the second dose against  Covid-19, he added.

Food adulteration has increased alarmingly across the country, said Health Minister Zahid Maleque on Tuesday. "Almost all the foods we eat are adulterated", he said while addressing an opinion exchange meeting at the Directorate of Health Services in the capital's Mohakhali. Basic food items, including rice, pulses, spices, fish and vegetables have toxic chemicals and other harmful additives, he said. Read: Adequate measures taken for treatment of Dengue patients: Health Minister As a result, ailments like cancer and Kidney diseases have doubled across the country. "In developed countries, no compromises are made to poison food, no matter how powerful a company is. But adulterated food is being served everywhere in our country. So, where do people go? What will we eat? It won't be allowed anymore,” the minister warned. "Creating awareness among people is a must to stop food adulteration. We’ve taken various steps in this regard,” the minister said. "If we want to give a healthy life to our next generation, these adulterated businesses must be stopped now", he said. Read: Misbehaving govt doctors drive patients for treatment abroad: Health Minister "We are going to form some field level teams to prepare a specific report on this. Later, we will sit with the higher authorities and resolve it very soon,” the minister said. Director General of the Department of Health Prof Dr ABM Khurshid Alam, Director (Administration) Prof Dr Md. Shamiul Islam Sadi and other Directorate of Health officials were present at the meeting.

The Health Ministry has taken adequate preparations for the treatment of the rising dengue patients, said Health Minister Zahid Maleque on Wednesday. Around 500 beds out of 1000 beds in Dhaka's DNCC Hospital and 400 beds in Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University’s (BSMMU)newly constructed field hospital have been prepared for dengue patients, said the minister. He was speaking at the foundation stone laying ceremony of a multi-purpose building on the occasion of the 59th birthday of Sheikh Russel, the youngest son of the Father of the Nation, at the city’s Sheikh Russell Gastro Liver Hospital and Institute. “The Health Ministry has no role in deteriorating the dengue situation. The health sector can provide treatment, but killing mosquitoes is not the health ministry’s job,” he said. With two more deaths from dengue confirmed on Wednesday, the official death toll from the disease rose to 120. During this period, 923 more patients were hospitalised with the viral fever as cases keep rising, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS). A total of 3,380 dengue patients, including 2,207 in the capital, are now receiving treatment at hospitals across the country.

Medicine stores will not be allowed to sell antibiotics without prescriptions from physicians and if they do so, their licenses will be revoked, Health Minister Zahid Maleque said today. “The government is going to enact a new law to prevent misuse of antibiotics, and if any drug store sells antibiotics without prescription, its license will be revoked,” he said while talking to reporters at the Secretariat. Read: Policies must to stop misuse, overuse of antibiotics: Health Minister Terming misuse of antibiotics a “silent killer”, he said that every year, 15 lakh people around the world die due to excessive consumption of antibiotics and Bangladesh is also seeing a rise in its negative effects. Taking antibiotics without prescription has created negative impacts on public health, said the minister. Read: BSMMU VC warns against excessive use of antibiotics Besides, the presence of antibiotics was also found in fish and meat which is also a matter of grave concern, he added. He also stressed the need to create public awareness about the excessive use of antibiotics.

Almost 33 lakh people are yet to get the first dose of Covid-19 vaccine, but the government has decided to stop administering the first dose by October 3, Health Minister Zahid Maleque said today. “Nearly 33 lakh people did not receive their first jab yet while 94 lakh people did not receive their second shot of Covid-19 vaccine across the country,” he said while speaking at a workshop over Covid-19 vaccination for children, aged 5-11 years, held at a Dhaka hotel. He also urged people, who have not taken their first Covid-19 vaccine dose yet, to take the shot as soon as possible. Read: Covid-19 vaccine consignment for kids arrive in Dhaka “After the month of October, there is a possibility of first and second doses of Covid-19 vaccine being out of stock. If some remain, those will be expired. So, those who did not receive first, second and booster doses, have been asked to take their respective jabs immediately,” said the health minister. Currently, 2.5 lakh people are working to ensure Covid-19 vaccination and of them 60,000 are administering the vaccines, he said, adding already 30 crore doses of Covid-19 vaccine have been administered across the country. Talking about administering Covid-19 vaccine among children, Maleque said ten lakh children have received Covid-19 jabs and some 2.15 lakh children are waiting to receive the jabs. Read: US donates additional 10mn Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine doses to Bangladesh

The International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh Act, 2022 was placed in the Parliament on Tuesday in order to repeal the military regime ordinance over the icddr,b in line with a verdict of the higher court. Health Minister Zahid Maleque placed the Bill and it was sent to the respective standing committee for further examination. The Committee was asked to submit its report within one month. As per the Bill, the institution shall be an autonomous, international, philanthropic, and non-profit Centre for research, education and training as well as clinical service. The headquarters of the Centre shall be at Dhaka. The Centre may establish its branches any place in the country subject to the approval of the respective governments. The Bill said that there will be a board consists of 12-17 members. Of them four members will be nominated by the Government, a member nominated by the World Health Organisation, a member to be nominated by a United Nations agency, 5-10 members nominated by the Board and executive director of the Centre. Read: Bill streamlining regulations for medical/dental colleges passes into law At any given time, no country shall have more than two members except for Bangladesh. All members will be appointed for three years and it can be extended for one time. No member can be appointed for more than six years. The Centre shall be administered by a Director who shall be selected and appointed by the Board for a term of three years which may be renewable for another term. The Centre shall have its own fund which shall consist of grants made by the Government, grants and contributions from other Governments and their agencies, international organisations and private organisations, gifts and endowments, sale proceeds and royalties of publications, income from research and contractual undertakings; and other sources. All funds of the Centre shall be kept in any scheduled Bank or Banks in Bangladesh as approved by the Board. The Centre shall be exempted from the labour laws in force in the country. It shall be governed by its own by-laws as may be prescribed. The Centre shall not be liable to pay any tax, rate or duty other than those paid by any other person in respect of any movable or immovable property which the Centre purchases or otherwise acquires from such person and other than those payable in respect of public utilities like water, gas, electricity, telephone and municipal rates. All non-Bangladeshi experts, technicians and research scholars employed by the Centre and working in Bangladesh for the furtherance of the objectives of the Centre shall be exempt from paying income tax.

The rate of normal birth delivery in the country is 69 percent, while the rate of cesarean delivery is 39 percent, Health Minister Zahid Maleque told parliament on Monday. He said this replying to a scripted question from Jatiya Party's Rustum Ali Faraji MP. The minister said an action plan titled “Promotion of Normal Vaginal Delivery, Prevention of Unnecessary Cesarean Section and Creating Awareness about Necessity and Justification of Cesarean Section" is under implementation” in order to increase the rate of normal delivery and reduce the caesarean section births.  Read: Speaker releases fry in Sangsad Bhaban Lake The action plan includes strengthening of regulatory framework, strengthening health management, capacity building of service providers through various trainings, and ensuring quality in and of delivery services.The  posting of doctors at district and upazila levels, ensuring round-the-clock emergency and maternity services through providing necessary equipment, he said, in fact improving.  The minister said the action plan also includes strengthening of services and deputation of midwives at the district upazila level, campaign activities to ensure at least four antenatal services, through which pregnant mothers are informed about the positive aspects of normal delivery and unnecessary caesarean sections. To ensure antenatal care for expectant mothers, house-to-house mother gatherings are being held with dignitaries of society routinely . In addition, various monitoring activities are underway to increase social security programs and reduce caesarean section rates, the minister added.