Health project stumbles over plagiarism

The Planning Commission has flagged a proposed Tk 19.66 billion health project for plagiarism in its feasibility study, overlapping activities with another similar project, and inconsistencies in planning and budgeting.

The project, titled "Implementation of Unfinished Essential Family Planning, Maternal, Child and Reproductive Health Services Activities from the Concluded 4th Sector Programme," was reviewed at a recent meeting of the Project Evaluation Committee (PEC), chaired by Dr Quayyum Ara Begum, member (secretary) of the Socio-Economic Infrastructure Division.

The proposal was placed by the Medical Education and Family Welfare Division under the Health Ministry, and the Directorate General of Family Planning (DGFP) was set to implement it from July 2024 to June 2026.

However, officials pointed out that one year of the two-year timeline has already passed without approval, which violates project rules. According to guidelines, projects cannot be approved retroactively and the timeline must now be revised.

The Commission also noted that another similar project worth over Tk 33.33 billion, titled "Climate Responsive Reproductive Health and Population Services Improvement and System Strengthening Project for Results", has already been proposed by the same ministry.

Given the overlap in goals, officials suggested merging both projects into one or implementing them in separate phases to avoid duplication.

One of the most serious issues identified was that the feasibility study for the Tk 19.66 billion project had copied content from the feasibility report of the upcoming "5th Health, Nutrition and Population Sector Programme" and from the other Tk 33.33 billion project.

Officials called this plagiarism "undesirable" and said such practices must stop.

Md Abdur Rouf, chief of the Socio-Economic Infrastructure Division at the Planning Commission, said the copied feasibility report must be replaced with a proper needs-based assessment.

"The project is not included in the Annual Development Programme (ADP) as an unapproved project and has no clearance from the Finance Division for manpower and vehicle procurement," he added.

Officials also found that the project's title, objectives, and key activities do not match and that several parts of the Development Project Proposal (DPP) were copied from outdated programmes. Even the procurement plan contains elements not aligned with the project's scope.

An official from the Directorate General of Family Planning said the project aims to ensure uninterrupted family planning and reproductive health services by providing support for manpower, emergency medicines, contraceptives, transport, and warehouse management.

But officials from the Implementation Monitoring and Evaluation Division (IMED) questioned why two nearly identical projects were proposed at the same time.

Directorate General of Family Planning explained that the new project is part of an exit plan following the end of the 4th sector programme, while the other one involves foreign funding. Even so, both IMED and the Programming Division recommended combining or phasing the projects to avoid wasting public funds.

The Planning Commission also found that about 60 per cent of the Tk 19.66 billion budget was earmarked for medicines, supplies, and contraceptives -- items typically funded through regular operational budgets.

These should be included in the revenue budget, not in development spending, and asked for an updated DPP with detailed cost breakdowns, the Commission officials said.

The Finance Division added that some service-related expenses in the proposed project -- such as utility bills and emergency drug purchases -- are already covered by existing budgets, yet have been included again. It called for line-by-line justification and better coordination.

The representatives of the Planning Commission, the Bangladesh Public Procurement Authority (BPPA) also denied approving the proposal under current modality.

As a result, the Commission has asked the Health Ministry to revise the proposal, correct its flaws, and avoid duplication before it is reconsidered for approval.

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