The government is continuously combating the challenges in the country’s healthcare services amid the global coronavirus pandemic and progressing accordingly, said Health Minister Zahid Maleque.
“Due to the coronavirus pandemic, some of our healthcare services have been affected. Our economic growth and activities have also been affected by Covid-19. We have to provide specialized care to Covid-19 patients.
Therefore, it has become a challenge to address the needs of other patients. However, we are continuously combating these challenges and progressing accordingly,” he said on Saturday.
Zahid Maleque was addressing a virtual programme and award ceremony marking the World Population Day 2020.Directorate General of Family Planning (IEM Unit) organized the event with the theme “Putting the brakes on Covid-19: How to safeguard health and rights of women and girls now.”
At the event, Minister Maleque presented the symbolic awards and crests to the recipients of the Best Family Planning Worker and Best Service Providing Institution. He also present the DGFP Media Award 2020 and DGFP Media Fellowship 2020 to the winning journalists and reporters.
Addressing the function, Zahid Maleque spoke of the challenges of achieving zero maternal mortality rate, zero unmet demand for family planning and zero gender based violence in the country during the coronavirus pandemic.
Replying to a query from Bangladesh Post feature writer Synthia Kainath Nur, one of the recipients of the Media Award and Media Fellowship, the minister said, “We must bring down maternal mortality rate, unmet demand for family planning and gender based violence to zero per cent by 2030.
“Though coronavirus has become an obstacle for us, we will soon be able to overcome it”, he added.
Presided over by Md Ali Noor, secretary to the Health Education and Family Welfare Division, Shahan Ara Banu, a director general, delivered the welcome speech.
Md Abdul Mannan, secretary to the Health Care Division of Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Dr Asa Torkelsson, representative at United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Bangladesh, Director-General of and Directorate General of Health Services Professor Dr Abul Kalam Azad among other spoke on the occasion.