11 areas of graft in health sector, ACC places 25 recommendations

Secretariat Correspondent: After conducting a widespread investigation into the health sector, the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) identified 11 areas of corruption and prepared a set of 25 recommendations to stop the menace.

ACC Commissioner Dr Mozammel Haque Khan on Thursday handed over a report to Health and Family Welfare Minister Zahid Malik regarding corruption in the Directorate General of Health Services.

Afterwards, he came up with the information to the media.

Talking to newsmen the ACC commissioner said, “A congenial atmosphere will be created in stopping corruption if action is taken in line with the report. In case of fighting corruption, prevention is better than cure.”

Referring to the ‘zero tolerance policy’ against corruption taken by the government and the ACC as well, he said, “None will be spared in case of committing corruption.”

In replying to a query, he said, “ACC has found 11 areas of corruption that included recruitment, promotion, transfer, posting, providing healthcare services and medicines supply.”

The ACC has come up with 25 recommendations to stop the corruption such as showing citizen charter, inclusion of members from specialized organization in receiving health accessories, following EGP tender process regarding purchase, conduct inquiry for giving approval of setting up diagnostic centres and private hospitals, formulating policy for recruitment, making compulsory to write generic number instead of medicine name in the prescription, and increasing internship period to two years from one.

Health Minister Zahid Malik said, “We will scrutinize the report as irregularities in the health sector have been mentioned in it. The government is committed to establishing the rule of law in every sector of society and it will be impossible to do so if corruptions are taken place.”

“Corruption will not be tolerated anymore as getting healthcare services are fundamental rights of the people,” he cautioned.


risingbd/Dhaka/Jan 31, 2019/Asad/Noimuddin/AI