Reza Mahmud :
The differences between two government services (DGHS and BMET) on vaccination of expatriates create anxiety and uncertainty among the stakeholders.
Sources said, the health ministry has agreed to give priority to the inoculating the expatriates who become stranded in the country after coming on vacations since the pandemic started last year.
Most of them cannot enter their respective workplace countries without inoculating with Pfizer or Moderna vaccines.
Firstly the government decided to inoculate Sinopharm vaccine to the expatriates.
But countries like Saudi Arabia and Kuwait did not accept such vaccines.
Beside, without taking vaccine, a worker have to stay in quarantine in the workplace countries for days costing Tk about 40,000 which is a burden for them.
In these circumstances, manpower recruiting agencies and Expatriate Welfares’ and Overseas Employment Ministry requested the health ministry to give foreign bound workers priority on inoculating Pfizer vaccines with easy process.
Finally the government agreed it.Meanwhile, one of the Directors of the Directorate General of Health Services on Wednesday said that the expatriates must have to have a SMS before taking a jab.
“The expatriate workers will receive the jab as per the list from the Bureau of Manpower, Employment, and Training (BMET). But none will get the dose without registration and getting SMS from the respective center,” DGHS Director and Member Secretary of Vaccine Deployment Committee, Dr Shamsul Haque said during a virtual bulletin on Wednesday.
This statement creates anxiety among the expatriates who have yet to be registered on Surokkha online or through apps for the vaccines.
But the Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training (BMET) differed with the statement of the DGHS Director.
When contacted, Md. Shahidul Alam, Director General of Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training (BMET) told The New Nation on Wednesday, “Everyone who are on queue to go to workplaces abroad need not registration through online or apps. It has been settled that we have to recommend the DGHS through papers and they have to administer jabs to the certain foreign bound manpower.”
The differences between DGHS and BMET created anxiety among the stakeholders.
“Manpower exporters along with the Expatriate Welfares’ ministry requested to the government for an easy procedure of vaccination. But getting SMS after registration through online or apps is really a lengthy process. It will be harmful for manpower exporting in this hard time,” Farhad Mahmud Tipu, Managing Director of Approach Peoples’ Recruitment, an agency of exporting manpower abroad told The New Nation on Wednesday.
“If our manpower have to wait for long for a SMS which is to come through ICT ministry procedures, may be cause of failure in sending them in time,” Tipu said.
Shameem Ahmed Chowdhury Noman, former Secretary General of Bangladesh Association of International Recruiting Agencies (BAIRA), said the government has to ensure vaccinating migrant workers in easy process because it is matter with foreign employers.
