Health Minister Nasim wants more budgetary allocation

Health Minister Mohammed Nasim has urged that the allocation made to the health sector in the proposed budget for the 2015-16 fiscal be increased.

On Jun 4, Finance Minister AMA Muhith proposed budget of Tk 2.95 trillion for 2015-16 fiscal with only 4.3 percent allocation for health.
 
“MPs want ambulances. I have them ready, but can’t bring them due to lack of money,” Nasim said in Parliament on Sunday during a discussion on the budget.
 
He said the government was now able to make doctors work in rural areas.
 “Doctors earlier didn’t want to stay in the rural areas. Now each village has doctors. This happened in the last two years. Rural people are dependent only on government hospitals.”
 
“These areas have no LabAid, United. There are 14,000 community clinics. And these health services are supervised by the MPs.”
 
“People of the country want health services to be ensured and that must be done,” the minister said.
 
Nasim announced that reserved seat MPs would be appointed as the vice-chairwomen of the upazila health complexes in their constituencies.
 
He also said that coronary care units (CCU) and intensive care units (ICU) would be set up at the government hospitals or clinics in all districts.
 
Medical universities like Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU) would be established in Chittagong and Rajshahi, he said.
 
The minister added that the government would initiate measures against kidney diseases and cancers through public and private initiatives.