People's involvement can make community clinics effective
Health minister tells Prothom Alo roundtable
Participants at a roundtable on community clinics and health service system in rural areas held at Prothom Alo office in the capital yesterday.Photo: STAR
Community clinics would function effectively when community people involve themselves in the process, said Health and Family Planning Minister Dr AFM Ruhal Haque yesterday. “If a local community considers the clinics of its own and gets involve in the functioning, the community clinics must function well,” he said. The minister made the remarks at a roundtable on community clinics and health service system in rural areas held at Prothom Alo office in the capital. Muhammad Humyun Kabir, senior secretary of the ministry, said the nutrition service would also be introduced at community clinics soon. The government is going to make functional 18,000 community clinics, including the existing 11,409, by 2014 at a cost of Tk 2,678 crore. Speakers at the roundtable said three staff of a community clinic--community health care provider (CHCP), family welfare assistance (FWA) and health assistance--have no accreditation to prescribe antibiotics. They said the management body, “Community Clinic Managing Group” (CCMG), which supervises and monitors such clinics have lack of power. Dr Mohammad Khairul Islam, country representative of Water Aid Bangladesh, said the government is creating quacks by allowing CHCPs and other staff of such clinics to prescribe drugs, including antibiotics, though they do not have accreditation to prescribe antibiotics. He said if one goes to the court in this regard, the government will have no answer. Ganesh Chandra Sarker, acting director general of the Family Planning Department, said its FWAs attend a community clinic three days a week which hampers the field level activities of the department. Earlier a family used to get visit of a FWA in every two months but now it takes around 12 months due to deputation of FWAs to community clinics, he said adding, proper service cannot be expected with deputed personnel. Dr Makhduma Nargis, project director of “Revitalization of Community Health Care Initiative in Bangladesh” said the demand of door-to-door visit by FWAs is reduced to some extend as women are coming out from their houses to join their workplaces. So, if FWAs work in such clinics it does not hamper the Family Planning Department's field work, she added. A total of 28 types of drugs, including four antibiotics, and some contraceptives methods are available at such clinics, said speakers. Prothom Alo organised the roundtable with the help of Plan Bangladesh. Prof Dr Khandaker Mohammad Sefaietullah, director general of the Health Department, Anwar Hossain Sikder, deputy country director of Plan Bangladesh and Dr Sayed Abu Zafar Mohammad Musa, director of Primary Health Care, also attended the event. Joint Editor Abdul Quaiyum of the daily moderated the roundtable.
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