Trust fund for community clinics in offing

The government has a plan to create a trust fund for community clinics across the country to give those a permanent shape and ensure smooth medicare services for people, said Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday.

“We would like to form in the future a trust fund like the PM's Education Trust Fund… ,” she said.

The premier was addressing a programme arranged by the health and family welfare ministry in Osmani Memorial Auditorium to distribute Best Community Clinic Award 2014 and launch the Interactive Learning Module for community clinic health providers.

Hasina said the objective to establish such a trust fund was to give a solid ground for the community clinics across the county so that no one could shut these down through just an order after the change of government.

“We've had a very bitter experience… we want to make these community clinics self-reliant financially.”

She mentioned that each community clinic would have its own account and local people will be the members of the committee for running it.

“Government grants will go to that account and the affluent section of the community will donate to the fund, too.”

The local committee will fix how many signatures will be needed to withdraw money from the account, said Hasina, adding that the people who would come to the community clinics for receiving preliminary treatment could donate if they wanted to. “Different organisations can donate to this fund as well.”

From this fund, she said, the community clinics would be operated, while the utility bills of the clinics would be paid from this fund to make those  self-sufficient. Addressing the event, the prime minister said there would be two new medical universities in Rajshahi and Chittagong. “We'll gradually set up medical universities in all the divisional headquarters.”

Earlier, Hasina distributed certificates among the seven winning clinics from seven divisions, and launched the interactive learning module.