Bangladesh to establish 18,000 community clinics for extreme poor

DHAKA, March 11 (Chinese media) -- Bangladesh will establish nearly 18,000

Community Health Clinics across the country to offer free medical services to

extreme poor, Bangladesh's health secretary said.

Secretary of Bangladesh's Health and Family Welfare Ministry Shaikh Altaf

Ali told Chinese media on Wednesday, "We'll establish the community clinics under the

government hospitals located at the country's all 481 sub-districts."

"Some 9,000 health clinics will start operation by next couple of days at

the ready-made government structures across the country while the rest of the

clinics will be established gradually," he said.

Ali said the Ministry of Health decided to establish the clinics at rural

Bangladesh in line with instruction of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

He said there are government hospitals at all sub-districts but many people

even cannot afford to come to that medical centers due to poverty that's why we

are taking health clinics to near to their homes.

Ali said the government established the community clinics also to create

awareness among village people about health care as their ignorance is seemed as

cause of many diseases.

"We can reduce the risks of many diseases like HIV/AIDS, malaria, dengue

fever, tuberculosis and leprosy by educating people through the community

clinics," he said.

Ali said the country is going to formulate a time worthy health policy by

next three months which will help government to take short, medium and long term

projects to improve the country's health services for all particularly extreme

poor.

According to the United Nations Development Program's Millennium

Development Goals: Bangladesh Progress report in 2007, around 40 percent of the

country's 147 million people live below poverty line (1 U.S. dollar per capita

per day).