Bangladesh Health Watch (BHW) on Tuesday launched its report titled 'COVID-19 in Bangladesh: the first two years and looking ahead' at the BRAC centre conference room in the capital. The report explores different aspects of the COVID-19 pandemic in the context of an LMIC, which is based on research studies published in various journals, said a press release.
At the launching ceremony, Dr Ahmed Mushtaque Reza Chowdhury, convener of BHW, Professor Dr Be-Nazir Ahmed, former Director of Disease Control, DGHS. Dr. Mohammad Mustuq Hussain, Advisor IEDCR, Dr Morsheda Chowdhury, Director HNPP, BRAC, Dr Md Sharfuddin Ahmed, Vice-Chancellor BSMMU, and Professor Dr. Rounaq Jahan, Convenor, Advisory group, BHW were present.
The discussant of the event, Dr Be-Nazir Ahmed, former Director of the Department of Disease Control,DGSH said, "Infected Covid patients should have been treated from humanitarian point of view."
He also said that "Development and Health are so related that we cannot separate them."
He constructively analysed each chapter and told that Public Health should be in the mainstream.
The Chief guest Dr Md Sharfuddin Ahmed said, "Our Covid preparedness and risk management was indeed praiseworthy. The govt took timely decisions in every step, such as giving lockdown, increasing health awareness, and following covid health measures. That is the reason our number of deaths are relatively low."
The session is chaired by Dr Rounaq Jahan. She said, "Every alternative year we are published the report where we give recommendations. However, somehow those recommendations are not implemented real life. This thing should be monitored.
She also said that our health budget remains unused most of the time whereas in other sectors the budget remain used.
This report attempted to chronicle the early COVID-19 response of the government and other stakeholders in Bangladesh, what went wrong, and what lessons it provided for us to reform the health systems to prepare for future epidemics/pandemics according to the scientists, may not be far away.
BHW has been publishing a series of reports titled "The State of Health in Bangladesh" every alternative year since 2006, which identified the most critical challenges to the health sector at points in time. Since the inception of the BHW, eight reports have been published.
