Caesarean sections HC to formulate guidelines

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Staff Reporter :
The High Court (HC) on Sunday ordered the government to form a committee in a month in order to formulate a guideline to prevent medically unnecessary Caesarean sections at all private and public hospitals and clinics.
The court also ordered the authorities concerned of the government to formulate the guidelines and to submit in the court by next six months.
The High Court bench of Justice Moyeenul Islam Chowdhury and Justice Md Ashraful Kamal passed the order following a writ petition filed by a rights organization, Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust (BLAST).
The court also issued a rule asking the authorities concerned of the government to explain in four weeks as to why their failure to prevent medically unnecessary Caesarean sections at private and public hospitals and clinics should not be declared illegal.
As per the HC order, the Health Ministry and the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) and Bangladesh Medical and Dental Council (BMDC) will form a committee to formulate a guideline to stop unnecessary Caesarean section, petitioner’s lawyer Barrister Rashna Imam told the reporters.
The committee will submit the guidelines to the High Court in six months in compliance with the order, she said.
According to new figures released by Save the Children,

Bangladesh is facing a massive boom in the number of medically unnecessary Caesarean section, commonly known as C-sections, between 2016 and 2018, the number of operations increased by 51 percent.
The country saw an estimated 860,000 of these unnecessary operations last year, while up to 300,000 women who need a C-section are unable to afford it.

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