Kabir Hossain Rakib, Kamalnagar Ramgati : There is a severe shortage of medicines in the Union Health and Family Welfare Centers in Kamalnagar Upazila of Lakshmipur district. For the past 9 months, the supply of essential life-saving medicines to these centers has been completely cut off. As a result, ordinary service recipients, including pregnant women in rural and char areas, are suffering immensely due to lack of necessary medical services.
Locals complain that although there are rules to supply common and essential medicines including iron, calcium, antibiotics, paracetamol from these union-level health centers, in reality, no new kits have been supplied for 9 months. As a result, sensitive service seekers like pregnant mothers are in extreme distress. The common people are forced to buy medicines from the local market at high prices.
According to the DDS Kit criteria, health centers are supposed to provide about 25 types of emergency medicines including iron and folic acid, calcium with vitamin D, vitamin B complex, albendazole, paracetamol, pantoprazole, diazepam, antibiotics (amoxicillin, ciprofloxacin), and food saline. To protect the health and nutrition of pregnant women in particular, at least 1200 pieces of iron and folic acid and 400 pieces of calcium tablets are supposed to be included in the kit. But in reality, the shelves of health centers remain empty for months.
Talking to residents of various unions in Kamalnagar Upazila, it is learnt that poor families from the char areas and remote areas struggle to reach the union health centre, but they have to return empty-handed. A pregnant woman who came for treatment said, “We thought we would get free medicines for anemia and nutrition. But after seeing the doctor, we were told that there was no medicine and that we had to buy it from outside. The price of medicines in the market makes it difficult for us to buy them.”
When talking to field officials of health centers, they said that they are unable to provide adequate services to the common people due to the lack of medicines from the higher authorities for a long time. They are now helpless to provide medicines without consulting while keeping the centers open.
Local representatives and residents of the area have demanded urgent intervention from the concerned authorities in this regard. They have strongly demanded that the government immediately allocate the necessary DDS kits and ensure medical services for the marginalized people and pregnant mothers in the char areas.
Views: 2
