In order to successfully deal with the increased pressure on the medical system caused by the Covid pandemic in district towns, it is imperative to ensure stockpiling of medicines, medical equipment, personal protective equipment and diagnostic kits for medical personnel and other manpower. But at such a time, media report that the Central Medical Store Depot (CMSD) has run out of emergency supplies. Recently, media reports claimed that the CMSD does not have stocks of important materials like high flow nasal cannula, Remdesivir injection, Covid testing kit and ventilator. The organisation is not able to supply materials as per the growing demand outside Dhaka. At this critical stage of the pandemic, the depletion of emergency supplies is a matter of great concern.
At the beginning of the second wave of the Covid-19, deficiencies of various sorts were noticed in different hospitals. At the same time, various life-saving equipment and materials worth Tk102 crore had been lying at the airport for around ten months, which had not been released only owing to lack of initiatives even though the materials were purchased to meet the urgent national need. There is a clear lack of coordination between the Health department and the CMSD. The CMSD says it is the responsibility of the health services division and the health department to plan for future purchases in advance as part of the necessary preparations to deal with the pandemic.
But the CMSD did not get any purchase plan from any source to deal with the second wave. No emergency procurement plan was found even in the sudden degrading state of the epidemic. The allegations are serious. During the initial days of the pandemic, we had seen an embarrassing situation centring safety and medical equipment in the health sector last year. After that, the government agencies got a lot of time to prepare themselves before the second wave arrived. But the health sector has wasted a lot of time circulating only letters, for which Covid patients had to pay dearly. In order to prevent this from happening again, it is necessary to ensure the supply and stockpile of emergency medical equipment immediately.
Although more than a year and a half has passed since the outbreak of the pandemic in the country, it is necessary to find out why adequate stocks of these emergency items could not be built. Surprisingly, the CMSD relies on various donor agencies for emergency equipment and supplies. But countries with similar economies like Bangladesh are buying emergency medical equipment at their own expense through increased international connectivity. Last year, the picture of corruption was exposed in the health sector procurement. After that, the government took immediate action against some high-ranking dishonest officials of the Ministry of Health and the Department of Health, but the situation did not improve.
Notably, the government has made the utmost efforts to deal with the novel coronavirus. Meanwhile, the government has imposed strict restrictions on the movement to keep the infection trend under control. These initiatives of the government to save the lives of the people have been appreciated by all quarters. But the lack of necessary medical equipment will call into question these initiatives, and a shortage in these life-saving materials will lead to death among patients. Experts believe that the amount of materials stored in the CMSD will not be able to deal with the potential crisis in the near future. It is necessary to buy and supply medical equipment as per the demand.
Given the overall situation, it is clear the health department does not have a minimum plan to deal with the crisis. Now, it is necessary to look into the matter quickly and seriously as well.
