Govt introduces emergency healthcare services at 500 health centres: Maleque

Health Minister Zahid Maleque on Thursday said the government has introduced emergency healthcare services for 24 hours at 500 public healthcare centres to reduce child and maternal mortality rate in the country.

“We will introduce emergency healthcare services at 400 health centres more in phases,” he told a discussion at the Bangamata Sheikh Fazilatunnesa Mujib Hall in Dhaka, an official release said on Thursday.

Director General of the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) Prof Abul Bashar Mohammad Khurshid Alam, Vice Chancellor of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University Prof. Dr. Md. Sharfuddin Ahmed, Director General of the Directorate General of Medical Education Professor Dr Tito Mia and senior officials of different relevant healthcare organisations, among others, addressed the discussion.

Maleque said, “In Bangladesh, 65,000 children and 4,500 mothers die every year. Maternal mortality rate will be reduced by 70 per cent by 2030 while children mortality rate will be cut by half during the same period.”

He laid emphasis on stopping early marriage, encouraging institutional delivery and introduction of emergency healthcare services for round the clock to achieve the target of reducing child maternal mortality rate.