Reza Mahmud :
The community based health services is on the wane as about 14,000 workers of Bangladesh Community Health Providers are seriously frustrated about their job facilities, sources said.
Revitalization of Community Health Care Initiatives in Bangladesh (RCHCIB) started its journey in 2011 for rendering health services to the rural people.
A community clinic has been established for giving health services to every six thousand people at Ward level in Union Council.
The employers of the clinics designation is Community Health Care Provider (CHCP).
Sources said that about 14,000 CHCP are working at 13,871 community clinics across the country.
There are 48 pc male and 52 pc female CHCPs are working in those clinics.
The community clinics brought a radical change in health care systems in rural areas as per the experts’ views.
Everything was going smoothly since 2018 as the government ensured the CHCPs that their job would be taken to revenue sector soon.
Letters in concern government offices also had been sent in this regards.
Service books and ACR also had been opened in 2011.
Leaders of CHCPs said that they filed a writ petition with the court for transferring their jobs to revenue sector.
After hearing the matters, the court delivered verdict giving directive to the government to transfer CHCPs job under revenue sector.
In 2018, the National Parliament passed a law regarding putting the RCHCIB under a trust.
The initiative created huge disappointment among the community health care providers.
Apart from these, the appellate division of Supreme court on March 6 delivered a verdict directing to send the community clinics under the trust.
The leaders of CHCPs said, they have not got the copy of the verdict yet.
They will take the next course of action after getting the copy of verdict.
“There are huge frustrations among the CHCPs, as most of them lost their ages for joining government job as per the assurance of taking them to revenue sector. But now the promise is not fulfilled,” Md. Zahidul Islam, President of Bangladesh Community Health Care Provider Association told The New Nation on Thursday.
He said, a very sound health care system for the rural people are now under threat as our employees have fallen in totally uncertainty about their job facilities.
The BCHCPA President said that their employees were giving health services regularly to about five lakh patients every day.
The well trained and experienced 3000 female CHCPs are ensuring giving normal birth regularly in every community clinics.
All of those services are now covered by a black shadow, a cloud of sorrow of the CHCPs, Zahidul Islam said.
When contacted, Akramul Haque Chowdhury, Sylhet divisional President and Central Joint-General Secretary of the BCHCPA told The New Nation on Thursday, “We have sacrificed everything as per the government’s assurance that our jobs are going to revenue sector. We are giving service to the people when our wages had not increased in one taka in the last 10 years.”
“But now, the government is pushing our jobs under a trust, he said.
Both the leaders said that 14 thousands of their colleagues have no confidence in the Trust formed for the community clinics.
Meanwhile, they have requested the Prime Minister to reconsider the matter and take their jobs under the revenue sector keeping the clinics under the Trust.
When contacted, Professor Dr. Syed Modasser Ali, Chairman of the Community Clinic Health Assistance Trust, told The New Nation on Thursday, “The decision of forming a Community Clinic Trust had been passed in the National Parliament. So, the CHCPs had to agree with the decision for their good.”
“They will get all of the facilities like the revenue sector including gratuities, pensions and others,” the Chairman said.
