Bangladesh Health Watch unveils Covid-19 research

Bangladesh Health Watch (BHW) on Tuesday launched a report titled “Covid-19 in Bangladesh: the first two years and looking ahead”, exploring different aspects of the pandemic in the context of Low- and Middle-Income Countries (LMIC).

The report, based on research studies published in various journals, was launched at the BRAC centre conference room in the capital, said a press release.

The discussant of the event, DGHS former Director of Disease Control Professor Dr Be-Nazir Ahmed, said, "Infected Covid patients should have been treated from a humanitarian point of view. We have seen a lot of discrimination."

“Development and Health are so related that we cannot separate them,” he added.

He constructively analysed each chapter of the report and said that “Public Health” should be in the mainstream.

The 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 to reform the health systems to prepare for future epidemics/pandemics which, according to the scientists, may not be far away.

At the launching ceremony, BHW Convener Dr Ahmed Mushtaque Reza Chowdhury, IEDCR Advisor Dr Mohammad Mustuq Hussain, HNPP, BRAC Director Dr Morsheda Chowdhury, BSMMU Vice-Chancellor Dr Md Sharfuddin Ahmed, and BHW Advisory group Convenor Professor Dr Rounaq Jahan were present.

The Chief guest Dr Md Sharfuddin Ahmed said, “Our Covid preparedness and risk management was indeed praiseworthy. The government 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 is relatively low.”

The session was chaired by Dr Rounaq Jahan. She said, “Every alternative year we have published the report where we give recommendations. However, somehow those recommendations are not implemented in real life. This thing should be monitored.

She also said that the country’s health budget remains unused most of the time, whereas, in other sectors, the budget remains used.

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, the release added.