MULTIPLE vaccines giving programme concerning the children’s health are at serious risk due to unabated work abstention programme of Health Assistants across the country. Bangladesh Health Assistants’ Association started work abstention for indefinite period since November 26 demanding technical hand status and up-gradation of their posts and wages with reviewing of job rules.
The Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI) vaccines giving programme was scheduled on Saturday but the children across the country were deprived from this health safety measures. The parents are anxious about their children’s health safety as no one can say when the vaccination programme will be resumed.
Besides, the measles and rubella vaccine programme for more than three crore children is scheduled for December 12 which has also become uncertain as there are no sign of ending the work abstention programme.
There is a legitimate reason for their behaviour as they are working in the technical field to vaccinise the children and people, but are officially treated as non-technical hands. On the other hand those who are vaccinising animals in veterinary department are technical hands. It is a serious discrimination and there is no logic of difference.
They could have not picked a better time for their movement as the entire nation will have to undergo vaccination within the next year or two due to Covid-19. Groups of individuals who have no political influence see that they only way they can redress their grievances is by agitation in the streets — which occurred multiple time in the last decade — from the demands for war crimes trials to abolishing quotas, not to mention the demands of Islamist parties.
So it stands to reason that the Health Assistants see the perfect opportunity to press their demands by holding our future generation hostage by depriving them of vaccines. They also know that they will the front line workers during Covid-19 and that their help will be needed to insert over 16 crore vaccines, so they have taken the plunge. Nothing remains now but for the authorities to redress their grievances by correcting their situation.
