The incumbent government no doubt deserves praise for many quantitative things done by it for the public health sector in general. The number of public hospitals, including those at sub-district (upazilla) level increased notably during the last ten years, no doubt. Doctors, nurses and other paraphernalia for patients have also increased. But what about the actual delivery at patients’ level ? Many of them allege that they are underserved and corruption plays a big hand. Specially, the holes in the system became much exposed and drew justifiably bigger criticism as the corona pandemic started last March.
The Health Ministry as well as the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) continue to be seen as protectors of corruption after several very serious corruption allegations surfaced in the health sector amid the COVID-19 pandemic.The DGHS defended itself whenever any irregularities and corruption were identified or unearthed by the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), police and Anti-CorruptionCommission(ACC) but never initiated any investigation into the allegations.
Doctors primarily raised the alarm over the supplies of fake N95 masks and unusually high prices of food for physicians and health service providers at Dhaka Medical College Hospital, but the DGHS not only defended themselves but punished the doctors who raised the alarm. Instead of sounding apologetic and promising prompt redress actions, the DGHS rather arrogantly issued notices and published advertisements in newspapers saying that their officials were ‘not corrupt’ and there were no irregularities in the incidents.
Corruption in the country’s health sector is not a novel thing. But the recent glaringly unveiled brazen incidents of irregularities with the authorities doing nothing in response against the wrongdoers have raised concern. ‘It’s a big question as to why the DGHS is so slack in taking actions against the wrongdoers,’ said Rashid, chairman of Bangladesh Health Rights Movement.
The supply of fake N95 masks to hospitals was the first in the long list of irregularities in the current Covid-19 crisis. It was shocking to learn that the directors of Khulna Medical College Hospital and Mugda Medical College Hospital were transferred as they raised questions about the quality of the medical supplies for the frontline healthcare providers which many believed as rather a punishment to them for doing the right thing.
Reportedly, the Anti Corruption Commission (ACC) has initiated an investigation into the matter but the DGHS on its own never bothered investigating how the fake N95 masks were supplied in sealed packs.The health ministry formed an investigation committee over the N95 mask scam but no report has come to light, yet. In the case of high food cost at Dhaka Medical College Hospital, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in parliament said, ‘Tk 20 crore for one month’s food cost seems unusual.”I want an investigation into it,’ she added.But the DGHS has not acted. Rather the health minister said that the cost was justifiable.
The RAB raids-sometime ago-at the Regent Hospital have very shockingly exposed the existence in worrying number of fake COVID-19 certificates in the capital.The hospital had all the blessings from the health ministry and the DGHS in signing the agreement with the government for treating COVID-19 patients although its licence expired in 2014. Regent’s Chairman, Shahed, got away with his crimes, including running the hospital without licence, taking huge money from patients in the name of COVID-19 treatment although the hospital was not meant for taking money from patients as per the agreement with the government. He also ran an operation of faking COVID-19 certificates, although his facility was not permitted to test COVID-19 samples. Another COVID-19 testing business with the government by a doctor under the government payroll and her other irregularities, including the sale of fake COVID-19 test certificates, were unearthed by the police some months ago.
But the DGHS remained silent over Shahed’s crimes and also JKG Healthcare chairman Sabrina Arif Chowdhury, a cardiac surgeon of the National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases. Nobody from either the DGHS or the Ministry was obliged to account for how these individuals or their institutions could produce fake Coivid-19 tests without their knowledge or monitoring and sell them for Taka five-six thousand each and rake in huge amounts of money in the process. Nobody in the DGHS and the Ministry has faced any penal action for their complicity in these matters, so far.
The Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) executive director underlined in a press conference that the coronavirus crisis was being used by a quarter as an opportunity to make money.He said that the corruption incidents in the cases of JKG Health Care and Regent Hospital were possible only because of underhand dealings with the DGHS officials.TIB in a study said that an abnormally high expenditure for purchasing medical supplies was found in a fast-track COVID-19 project.
It found that the price for each pair of safety goggles was proposed at Tk 5,000 but the market price of the item was less than Tk 1,000, for each set of personal protective equipment at Tk 4,700 against the market price of less than Tk 2,000, for a pair of boots at Tk 1,500 against the highest market price of Tk 500.Besides, Tk 55 crore was quoted for five pieces of computer software whereas the average unit price was Tk 28 lakh, Tk 10.5 crore was quoted as four websites development cost against the highest market price of Tk 2 lakh for developing each website, the price for 30 audio clips was proposed at Tk 11.5 crore whereas a movie cost Tk 1 to 2 crore.
Needless to say, it is more than high time to start deep cleansing drives both in the DGHS and the Ministry to transparently identify the perpetrators of such absolutely unacceptable corruption. People are also one in demanding fastest possible law enforcement measures against these individuals, however protected they may feel to be, followed up byappropriate punishment. Furthermore, the illegal wealth amassed by these individuals through their corrupt wheeling-dealings, such wealth must be immediately detected, seized and attached to the public exchequer.
