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International Nurses’ Day is being observed today in the country with a poor doctor-nurse ratio impeding the delivery of quality healthcare services.
   There are 21,000 nurses against 43,000 doctors, while the World Health Organisation set standard suggests at least three nurses against one doctor.
   Among the registered nurses, only 1,400 are employed in the public sector and about 2,500 others are doing jobs overseas, while the rest are either engaged in private clinics or waiting for government job, according to the sources in the nursing council.
   In Bangladesh, the nurse-patient ratio is 1:15 as against international standard of 1:4, said medical experts and health ministry officials.
   With the requirement of doctors in 2020 projected at 62,705, Bangladesh would need almost 180,000 nurses to attain the international standard, they said.
   Only 1,300 nurses come out from 38 government nursing institutes and 10 private institutes each year, while the public medical colleges produce over 2,100 doctors each year and private medical colleges have more than 1300 seats.
   With such a scenario, health authorities and professionals’ bodies have chalked out programmes to observe the nurses’ day themed this year on ‘delivering quality, serving communities: nurses leading primary health care.’
   ‘Poor doctor-nurse ratio hampers the health services in the country,’ said Khondaker M Shefayetullah, director of medical education and health manpower development of the directorate of health services.
   ‘The doctor-nurse ratio is just reverse in Bangladesh to the World Health Organisation set standards,’ he said adding that the government has already initiated a process to create more skilled nurses to fulfil the demand for both domestic and overseas job markets.
   ‘The role of nurses in health service is very important. The whole system will collapse without them,’ the director said.
   The government plans to raise the doctor-nurse ratio to 1:3 by 2020, said an official of health and family welfare ministry.
   To make the nursing education popular among young people, the government will launch massive awareness programmes and increase the seats at the nursing institutes, said the official.
   According to an estimate, there is only one nurse per eight hospital beds in the country that severely deprives the patients of proper healthcare.
   ‘It should be one nurse per four patients,’ said Shajahan Hawlader, general secretary of Bangladesh Nurses Association.
   In some special cases as in intensive care units, the ratio should be one nurse for one patient, he added. Nursing Department and Bangladesh Nurses Association will bring a procession from Dhaka Medical College Hospital in the morning and organise a discussion on the prospects and problems of nursing profession at Engineers Institution, Bangladesh at 10:00 am.
   President Iajuddin Ahmed in a message lauded the important role of nurses in the country’s health sector.

Speakers at a seminar in Dhaka on Sunday stressed the need for taking effective measures to further develop the water transportation networks for easing the communication system.
   Describing the water transport as an important part in the country’s communication system, they said proper attention should be given on modernisation of the waterways for more progress and prosperity in the national economy.
   The speakers made the observations while addressing the seminar on ‘Inland Water Transport system: Problems and solutions’ at the Moni Singh-Farhad Smrity Bhaban, jointly organised by Journalists Forum for Communication and Environment and Green Club of Bangladesh.
   Former shipping minister ASM Abdur Rob, environment activist Ruhin Hossain Prince, member-secretary of Nirapad Noupath Bachao Andolan Aminur Rusul Babul, general secretary of Nagorik Sanghati Sharifuzzaman Sharif and secretary general of Citizens’ Rights Movement Tusar Rehman, among others, addressed the seminar.
   President of JFCE Fazlul Haque Shawon presented a keynote paper while its general secretary Ashish Kumar Dey conducted the seminar.
   ASM Abdur Rob said the country’s water transport system despite its huge potentialities could not be developed up to the desired level. Now proper attention must be given on it by providing all modern facilities and expanding the waterways, he said.
   Rob underscored the need for formulating a time-befitting water transport policy to ensure coveted development in this sector of communication to help contribute further in the national economy.

The government wants to bring all union parishads under the motherhood allowance in the upcoming budget, said Rasheda K Chowdhury, adviser to the women and children affairs ministry, on Sunday.
   She said achieving the millennium development goal in reducing child and maternal mortality is not possible without ensuring the safe motherhood under the social safety net.
   Rasheda was addressing a Mother’s Day discussion programme organised by non-governmental organisation DORP and Daily Jugantor at the BILIA auditorium in the Dhaka city.
   She said presently the government is providing monthly Tk 300 as motherhood allowance for 15 expecting mothers each of a union under 3000 unions for 24 months.
   The conditions for the allowance require that the mother’s age should not be less than 20 years, and mother will get the money for the first or the second baby.
   The adviser said, ‘We are expecting to increase the social safety net in this year’s budget.’
   Talking about the women development policy she said, ‘The government is determined to ensure women’s right, but at present election is its main task.’
   On the demand for observing Mother’s Day as a national day, Rasheda said the government has first to fix the date to observe Mother’s Day as a national day.
   Presently, the day is being observed internationally on the second Sunday of the month of May.
   Former adviser ASM Shahjahan, Muhammad Ibrahim of the Federation of NGO in Bangladesh, AHM Noman, secretary general of DORP, also spoke at the programme.
   In another programme on Mother’s Day, a total of 27 mothers received Ratnagarva Award for their contribution to their families. Grand Azad Hotel organises the programme every year to mark the day.
   Sahida Begum and Khurshida Begum got special awards among the 27 awarded mothers.
   Nurjahan begum, editor of weekly Begum was chief guest at the programme while politician Abdur Razzak, editor of The Independent Mahbubul Alam and executive director of Ain o Salish Kendra Sultana Kamal were present among others.
   A special reception was awarded to mothers at the Sonargaon Hotel, with about 150 menus served to observe the day.
   Besides, a cultural programme was organised to mark the day in the city. Television channels aired special programmes and newspaper published special features and column to mark the day.
   Greeting cards, flowers and gifts featuring mother’s speciality to the children were on high demand at the shops and markets.

US energy company Chevron could not restart their seismic survey at Baligaon and Baghmara villages of Kamalganj upazila till Sunday in the face of locals’ protests against development of cracks in some houses.
   The company sent a letter to the deputy commissioner’s office on Sunday saying that they would give compensation for any damage to houses and reserve forest because of the survey.
   Alkama Siddiquee, DC of Moulvibazar, confirmed the receipt of the Chevron letter.
   The local administration asked the company on Friday for a written assurance that it would compensate for any damage to any structure during the seismic survey before it resumes the survey.
   The people of Baligaon and Baghmara villages on Thursday and Friday resisted Chevron survey after they found cracks developed in their homes during the underground explosions.
   A meeting of local people with the Kamalganj upazila administration, local public representatives and Chevron’s official was held at the house of Sirajul Islam on Friday.
   It was decided in the meeting that the survey work would be suspended till Sunday. Chevron official Imam Hussain said in the meeting that the company would take steps to compensate the affected people after a team of higher officials visit the area on Sunday.
   Hazera Khatun, upazial nirbahi officer of Kamalganj, Golam Kibria Shafi, chairman of Kamalganj union parisad, Sirajul Islam and others were present in the meeting.
   The UNO told New Age on Sunday that they would decide when Chevron would start work in the villages after getting instruction from the DC office.

The Rapid Action Battalion recovered 2,000 kilograms of urea from a truck on a road at the Poschimpara area under Kanipur union in Faridpur Saturday night.
   According to a battalion release, sensing the presence of the patrolling forces the driver and the helper abandoned the truck and fled. RAB personnel seized the truck and took it to the Kotwali police. A case was lodged with the Sadar police.

Speakers at a discussion on Sunday demanded that the government should set up a separate directorate for senior citizens and increase budgetary allocations for their welfare.
   Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies researcher Dr Sharifa Begum in her keynote paper said at present the elderly accounted for about six per cent of the country’s total population as per 2001 statistics, and it will be 8 per cent in 2020, but the government allocated only .08 per cent of the gross domestic product for them in the current budget.
   ‘The elderly people are very much neglected in the society and even they do not get enough attention from their children due to economic hardship,’ she said.
   She said that if the government allocates .64 per cent of the GDP, all the older people can get Tk 220 a month as old age allowance while each of them will get Tk 300 a month if the allocation is 1 per cent of the GDP. But the allowance should be at least Tk 500 per month as most of the money is spent for medicines of the older persons, she observed.
   She placed a 19-point charter of demands including providing loans for the ageing population with ability to work, supply food at reduced prices for the poor.
   The demands also include separate ward in all the government hospitals for the older people and appointment of physicians with expertise in geriatric medicine. Formation of a special fund for the older people is also among the demands.
   The discussion was organised by Resource Integration Centre at the National Press Club on Sunday with its director Abul Hasib Khan as its moderator. Dhaka University teacher Shah Akram, actress Dilara Zaman, Tofazzal Hossain, Abdur Rauf Mollah, Shahabuddin Sarker, Paul D’ Costa and Habibur Rahman took part in the discussion.