Deep-rooted issues hamper Bangladesh’s recovery

Even as the number of COVID-19 cases continues to rise, healthcare workers in Bangladesh struggle to get their hands on good quality personal protection gears. The tendency to cover up irregularities and mismanagement has led to a prevailing culture of corruption.

SALEEM SAMAD

Recently, Bangladesh crossed the grim milestone of 1,62,000 confirmed coronavirus cases. With a population of 160 million, the developing economy has been grappling with formidable challenges that have only been exacerbated by the outbreak of COVID-19.

Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB), a civil society organisation dedicated to fighting against corruption, has squarely blamed the government’s poor coordination for the current crisis.

The rot within

Data shows that 26 percent of the frontline healthcare workers in Bangladesh, including doctors, nurses, and hospital staff, did not receive personal protection gears, even as the number of COVID-19 cases has been on the rise. Also, the protection materials supplied to government hospitals were deemed to be of inferior quality.

At least six doctors who brought up the issue via Facebook posts were suspended or transferred to non-COVID hospitals as punishment for speaking out. Eventually, at the intervention of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, the Anti-Corruption Bureau and anti-crime forces were shaken from their siesta. They raided dozens of places – including government warehouses – to find fake protective materials and stolen medical products.

“If the government wants to tackle this crisis, the right to get and publish accurate information must not be diminished,” said Dr. Iftekharuzzaman, executive director of TIB. The tendency to cover up irregularities and mismanagement through restrictions on disclosure of information encourages corruption.

Stitch in time

In the wake of the coronavirus outbreak, TIB analysed seven indicators of governance, including rule of law, responsiveness, capacity and effectiveness, coordination and participation, accountability, transparency, and control of corruption. “The government failed to make adequate preparations even after getting three months’ time,” noted Dr. Iftekharuzzaman.

“The impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic have been largely ignored in the budget allocation for the health sector,” remarked Dr. Fahmida Khatun, executive director of the think tank Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD). “The outbreak is a lesson for us, which has made it clear how much strength we have to tackle the crisis,” she said.

The Daily Star, an independent newspaper, in an editorial recently wrote: From the onset of the pandemic, citizens have been confused and frustrated about the government’s lack of vision and direction in addressing the health and socio-economic implications of COVID-19 holistically. The newspaper came heavily on the government’s casual handling of the risk of spread at the initial stages, declaring general holidays and non-binding lockdown.

The arbitrary policy decision at every stage, the editorial observed, have left ordinary citizens as well as experts in bewilderment as to what the government is thinking and what it wants to achieve in the near and far future.

Prof Abul Kalam Azad, Director General of Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) drew flak from ruling party leaders when he recently said, “COVID-19 situation in Bangladesh will not go away in two or three months, rather it is likely to stay for two to three years.”

First published in the Health Analytics. 10 July 2020

Saleem Samad, is an independent journalist, and health fact-checker, recipient of Ashoka Fellowship and Hellman-Hammett Award. He could be reached at ; Twitter @saleemsamad

Pandemic has exposed deep-seated weaknesses in Bangladesh

Photo: Reuters

SALEEM SAMAD

A senior staff member along with many others of a grocery chain outlet in Dhaka were hailed as “corona warriors” by a leading English newspaper. The daily did not hesitate to describe that “our humanity, empathy, and responsibility is being tested by the coronavirus pandemic.”

Shila Aktar, a customer relationship officer at a grocery outlet had a fever, but other signs of coronavirus were absent. With fever, she went from one government hospital to another -- over four consecutive days.

She tried day and night to access the dedicated helpline. Also, she desperately tried online registration with no luck.

On the third day, she had an outrageous experience at a government-dedicated Mughda Hospital for Covid-19 patients. The Ansar Battalion sold Tk20 tickets at the exorbitant price of Tk2,000 to 3,000 in connivance with the hospital staff.

Hearing her ordeal, a journalist wrote an angry post on Facebook. Promptly, the lawmaker Saber Hossain Chowdhury responded pro-actively. The following day, the guards were removed and an additional booth to collect 150 additional samples a day was opened adjacent to the hospital.

On the fifth day, despite feeling weak, she stood in a queue from 6am in a make-shift booth in Bashabo, in the city. Finally, her sample was taken.

The issue did not end there. Now the waiting period began to get her virus test report. After four days she received a heartbreaking message online and also phone SMS that she was positive. 

“Dear Shila Aktar, your test for coronavirus is positive. Please stay at home. Be positive.”

The test for the coronavirus is a nightmare for millions in the country. Well, the government and private resources have been inadequate, coupled with widespread corruption in medical supplies and a lack of transparency in health care management.

As the crisis in Wuhan enlarged last winter, the “learned” heath minister Zahid Malek assured the nation that the country is fully prepared to overcome the pandemic.

When the virus finally struck on March 7, there were only a few ventilators in the country. The country had few virus testing labs, and no dedicated hospitals for infected patients when the first virus was detected in early March.

Despite media warnings, based on input from infectious disease experts, the airport authorities and immigration departments were lax in checking the entry of thousands of people, and also didn’t follow the quarantine protocols.

Well, the government never used the word “lockdown” or “curfew” and the police and civil administration all over the country failed to keep the people at home, maintain social distancing, wear masks, or practise basic hygiene.

The worst-case scenario was that the doctors, nurses, and health care staff often did not have enough PPE, including gloves and masks and safety materials.

Some state hospital senior doctors who have taken to social media to criticize the poor quality of medical supplies were punished. Even those who complained of poor living facilities in designated hotels were also punished.

Caught in a catch-22 situation, between lives and livelihoods, after 66 days, the government partially opened offices, factories (including export industries), shops, public transport, domestic flights, and restaurants. Several media reports say all the establishments flouted health guidelines with impunity.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has been rated among the top 10 women leaders for the commendable job in coronavirus management by the prestigious Forbes magazine. She recently wrote in the British newspaper, The Guardian, that Bangladesh is unlikely to be the only country struggling with health, economic, and climate emergencies this year.

Most governments have proved dangerously unprepared for the crisis, which has exposed deep-seated weaknesses in public-health and social-security systems in rich and poor countries alike.

First published in the Dhaka Tribune, 16 June 2020

Saleem Samad is an independent journalist, media rights defender, recipient of Ashoka Fellowship and Hellman-Hammett Award. He could be reached at saleemsamad@hotmail.com. Twitter @saleemsamad

Healthcare, humanity, and hospitals

Testing for coronavirus has been a nightmare for millions in Bangladesh, coupled with widespread corruption in medical supplies and poor transparency in healthcare management

SALEEM SAMAD

A senior staff of a grocery chain outlet in capital Dhaka, along with many others, was hailed as “Corona Warriors” by the Business Standard published from Bangladesh. The paper was emphatic in celebrating the role of these “heroes” at a time when “our humanity, empathy, and responsibility is being tested by the coronavirus pandemic.”

Testing for coronavirus has been a nightmare for millions in the country. The government and private resources are inadequate, coupled with widespread corruption in medical supplies and poor transparency in healthcare management.

Desperate times

Shila Aktar, a Customer Relationship Supervisor at Agora grocery outlet, had fever and weakness, but other signs of coronavirus were absent. She went from one government hospital to another. On the fifth day, she decided to stand in a queue at another make-shift booth in the city. Finally, her sample was taken.

Shila had desperately tried all helplines – announced as public health messages on public and private televisions, FM radios, newspapers, SMS, as well as embedded ringtones on mobile phones. At last, she took to Facebook to share the suffering of hundreds of people who had to wait in long queues for several hours at the state hospitals to get themselves tested.

She recounted her terrible experience at the government-dedicated Mughda Hospital for COVID-19 patients, not far from her home. The Ansar Battalion guards sold Taka (BDT) 20 tickets at an exorbitant price of Taka 2,000 to 3,000 in connivance with hospital staff union leaders. Her angry Facebook post brought the matter to the attention of a local lawmaker, Saber Hossain Chowdhury. The following day, para-police guards were removed and additional booths were opened adjacent to the hospital to collect further 150 samples a day.

Then began the waiting period to get her virus test report. After four days, she received a heartbreaking message online and also via phone SMS: “Dear Shila Aktar, your test of coronavirus is positive. Please stay at home. Be positive.”

Shila was unknowingly wandering for more than nine days infected by the contagious virus.

Leadership lessons

Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has been rated among the top 10 women leaders for their commendable responsibility in coronavirus management by the prestigious Forbes magazine. Despite working with goddess Durga’s ten hands, she was in a dilemma as to what should be her nation’s priority: lives or livelihood?

As the crisis in Wuhan grew, the ‘learned’ heath minister Zahid Malek assured the nation that the country is fully prepared for any eventualities to overcome the pandemic. Thousands of panicked migrants returned home from epicentres; they were checked with ancient thermal scanners and hand-held thermometers, which broke down in weeks.

Despite media warnings, based on inputs from infectious disease experts, the airport authorities and immigration department were lax in checking the entry of thousands of people, who didn’t follow the quarantine procedures.

When Bangladesh’s first virus infection was detected on 7th March, there were only a few ventilators, a couple of virus testing labs, and no dedicated hospitals for infected patients. While the government never officially announced a ‘lockdown’ or ‘curfew’, the police and civil administration in the country failed to keep the people safe at home or ensure that they maintained social distancing, wore masks, and practised hygiene.

The most worrisome part was that the doctors, nurses, and healthcare staff did not have enough Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) kits. The suppliers had no fear of delivering low-quality and even fake materials. Scores of doctors and nurses were infected and were either placed in-home quarantine, isolation centres, or hospitals. Nearly half a dozen doctors succumbed to the deadly virus.

Some state hospital senior doctors who took to social media to criticise the poor quality of medical supplies were punished. Even those who complained of poor living facilities in designated quarantine hotels were punished.

When Cyclone Amphan from the Indian Ocean struck southwest of Bangladesh in May, people were afraid to move to the shelters as they were not built with social distancing in mind.

Caught in a catch-22 situation, between lives and livelihoods, the government has partially opened offices, factories (including export industries), shops, public transport, domestic flights, and restaurants. For now, the fate of parks, cinema halls, convention centres, religious and cultural festivals is on hold.

Regular products that were once sold on the streets have vanished. Now we have hawkers selling hand gloves, sanitizers, face shields, PPE gowns, and goggles to eager customers, who are unaware of the quality of these products.

First published in the Health Analysis Asia, 12 June 2020

Saleem Samad is an independent journalist, health fact-checker in Bangladesh. Recipient of Ashoka Fellowship and Hellman-Hammett Award. He could be reached at saleemsamad@hotmail.com; Twitter: @saleemsamad