Health and Family Welfare MinisterMohammed Nasim on Sunday said Rohingya people, who fled from Rakhine state of Myanmar to Bangladesh due to violence, would have to return to their homeland.
“Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has given shelters to Rohingyas with her motherly affection. We (the government) are providing them with
accommodation, food and medical supports. But, they will not be allowed to stay in the country for a long period, they will have to return to their own country,” he said.
He was speaking as the chief guest at inaugural ceremony of the 9th One Health Bangladesh Conference at Radisson Blue Dhaka Water Garden hotel in the city with Director General of the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) Prof Dr Abul Kalam Azad in the chair.
Nasim, also a presidium member of Awami League (AL), called upon the world community to put pressure on Myanmar government to take prompt actions to bring their people back and stop barbaric killings in Rakhine state.
He said, “Representatives from different countries, including the USA, European Union and countries of Middle East, are extending their assistance on the issue.”
“We have political commitment and have a courageous leader like the Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, so we must solve the problem,” said the Minister.
He also sought supports from ministries concerned to spearhead the “One Health Movement”, a global campaign to expand interdisciplinary
collaborations to protect human and animal health and environment.
“Without teamwork particularly among the livestock, environment, food and agriculture ministries, health sector alone cannot make it a success,” he said.
The theme of the two-day conference is ‘Achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through One Health approach’, where more than 600 delegates are attending from home and abroad.
The aim of the conference is to analyse the current situation, identify the challenges and explore the possible solutions of One Health Practices to support achieving SDG in health sector.
The national disease monitoring arm, Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research (IEDCR), organised the international conference aim to share knowledge, technology and experiences on One Health Practices and promote networking, partnership and collaboration among non-traditional partners across the world.
Representatives of different ministries, World Health Organisation, Food and Agriculture Organisation, UNICEF and USAID were present at the inaugural function.
