Health taskforce on the way as Bangladesh grapples with COVID-19 scams

The government will form a taskforce to monitor irregularities in the health sector, Health Minister Zahid Maleque said.

The government will check whether there are irregularities in other medical institutions, including hospitals and clinics, in Bangladesh, the minister said at a media briefing at the secretariat in Dhaka on Wednesday.

His comments came amid a series of scams involving COVID-19 tests that roiled Bangladesh’s already fragile health sector.

The minister also commented on the resignation of Abul Kalam Azad, director-general of health services, the first casualty since the episode of fake COVID-19 tests unravelled.

“The public administration ministry will take necessary steps to confirm his resignation as he is a grade-1 officer,” Maleque said responding to a question on the recruitment of a new chief of the Directorate General of Health Services, the key government agency in the coronavirus battle.

The decision will be made after the public administration ministry’s approval of the resignation submitted by the health department’s director-general.

On China's COVID-19 vaccine, Maleque said the government would consult with the national coronavirus committee to decide on implementation in Bangladesh.

“The government is also observing the vaccine’s effectiveness in different countries,” the minister said.

The government will do what is good for the country, he said