Published: 03 July 2013
Speakers at a consultation on “The Challenge of Governance in Healthcare and Ways to Overcome” stressed on joint efforts among healthcare stakeholders and harmony among national and local level efforts. TIB organized the consultation on 3rd July at the BIAM Foundation auditorium with Dr A F M Ruhul Haque, MP, Minister for Health as the Chief Guest; Professor Dr Khandaker Mohammad Shefatullah, Director General of Health Services as the Special Guest; Dr Iftekharuzzaman, Executive Director, TIB as the Moderator and Professor Syed Monzurul Islam, Member, TIB Board of Trustees as the Chair. Ms Taslima Akter, Programme Manager, Research & Polihcy, TIB presented a paper prepared under TIB’s flagship initiative known as Citizen’s Report Card (CRC). The paper was prepared through local level consultation with healthcare stakeholders and it threw light on challenges to local level healthcare governance and recommended ways to improve.
Representatives from 44 CCCs, 7 upazilla health complexes, 34 Zilla sadar Hospitals, 3 medical college hospitals attended the daylong workshop and assembled themselves into six groups to identify the loopholes in the healthcare sector and strategies ways to improve. They identified shortage of manpower, medicine & equipment; lack of efficiency in monitoring and audit and lack of dissemination of information were main obstacles to ensure quality healthcare services to the people. They recommended the policymakers present to ensure doctors’ presence, adequate manpower, medicine, equipment, ensure participation of local people, initiate strong monitoring etc. to deliver services at the expected level.
Highlighting on different initiative, the minister informed that the government had formulated policies like health policy and population policy, had also set a number of community clinics and recruited thousands of doctors, nurses, health assistants and community healthcare providers to ensure quality healthcare to the poor and marginalized people. He urged all health officials to provide quality healthcare services to people and also build a good relationship with the service recipients.
Dr Sumaiya Khair, Deputy Executive Director, TIB; Brigadier General Dr M Saidur Rahman, Director, Rajshahi Medical College Hospital; Dr M Sirajul Haque Talukder, Civil Surgeon, Faridpur District also spoke on the occasion.
