Director General of the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) Abul Kalam Azad has resigned amid a series of scams related to Covid-19 tests.
Azad submitted his resignation letter to the Public Administration Ministry on Tuesday, Health Secretary Abdul Mannan said.
Source at DGHS said Azad showed his deteriorated health condition as the reason of the resignation as he has been suffering from Kidney problems.
However, the source could not confirm whether the resignation was accepted or not.
After Professor Dr Din Mohammad went on retirement, the government appointed Dr Abul Kalam Azad as director general for health services. Later his tenure was extended twice on contractual basis.
Prior to his appointment as director general in 2016, Azad was the additional director general for planning and then administration at the DGHS.
Last week, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare served a show cause notice to Dr Abul Kalam Azad over signing an agreement with the Regent Hospital that was found providing fake Covid-19 certificates.
Sources from DGHS said that Additional DG Prof Dr Nasima Sultana, Mugda Medical College Principal Prof Dr Titu Mia, and Dr AHM Enayet Hussain, the DG of Health Education Department under DGHS, are on the short list of candidates who could replace Prof Azad.
He had also worked as the director of the directorate's Management Information Department.
Born in Nilphamari in 1960, he received MBBS degree from Dhaka Medical College in 1983 and MPhil from Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University in 1990.
