Reza Mahmud :
The special budget of Tk 10,000 crore needs to proper utilize without misuse and corruption, the public health experts think.
“It is the physicians who are directly involved in the battle against the coronavirus pandemic can tell which is highly needed to face this combat. So they must have a role during the planning of the utilization of the special allotment,” Professor Nazrul Islam, former Vice-Chancellor of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU) told The New Nation on Friday.
Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal proposed to allot Tk10,000 crore as a special allocation to combat the coronavirus pandemic during placing his budget proposal on 2020-21 fiscal year.
In a post budget briefing on Friday, Finance Minister said that funds are not a problem for reviving the health sector and tackling the Covid-19 pandemic, which has affected both lives and livelihoods.
“More budgetary allocations would be provided to the health ministry as long as they ensured health service in the country,” Finance Minister said on Friday during an online post-budget briefing. Professor Nazrul Islam, also Member of the National Technical Advisory Committee, formed to contain coronavirus, said, “It cannot be said now if the sum of moneyis sufficient in this battle or not. We can say it after starting utilization of the money because we have no idea about many things we need in this unusual circumstances.”
He welcomed Finance Minister’s post budget briefing where he ensured more allocation if necessary to revive health sector.
About necessity of this emergency field hospitals Professor Nazrul Islam said, “There is lack of adequate Covid Hospitals, there is lack of necessary Oxygen supply, lack of ICU beds and equipment like ventilator and others. So we must work jointly to win this battle.”
He said, “We want to establish ICU beds and introduce high flow oxygen systems in district and upazila level hospitals to provide proper treatment of Covid patients there. We also want to expand adequate coronavirus testing laboratories at district and upazila level with this special allocation.”
The other experts stressed on careful use of money to check unnecessary expenditures.
They said when hospitals failed to provide oxygen, ventilator and ICU services to the serious Covid-19 patients, then every penny from this allotment should be used carefully.
“There are some bad examples before us as like N95 mask scam. We want to shun such types of corruption in health sector especially in this epidemic moment,” Prime Minister’s personal physician Professor Dr. ABM Abdullah told The New Nation on Friday.
Dr. ABM Abdullah, also Adviser, National Coordination Committee on Prevention and Control of Covid-19, suggested doctors, nurses and other health workers special incentives in this emergency and risky moment so that they become willing to stay remote areas to provide treatment of Covid-19 patients.
Public health experts also suggested to exchange views with physicians who are directly working field level to provide medical treatment to coronavirus patients about which materials they are needed in this regards.
“Before utilize the special allocations, the ministry should sit with the doctors of Covid dedicated hospitals who are experiencing matters every moments. They can say which things they want in this battle. If it happens, the most necessary things will come front and to be addressed easily. So, transparency in planning of costing this money is very much important,” Dr. Shahed Rafi Pavel, Chairman of Bangladesh Doctors Foundation (BDF) told The New Nation on Friday.
As an example, Dr. Pavel said, High Flow Nasal Cannula (HFNC) is very important for serious coronavirus infected patients, but most of the hospitals have not this. So, numbers of HFNC need to provide now to hospitals using this money.
