SANGSAD BHABAN : Health and Family Welfare Minister Sardar Md. Sakhawat Husain said the government has a plan to develop rural medical professionals in light with the conception of the village doctor (Palli Doctor) trained under local medical assistant and family planning (LMAF) course aiming at enhancing health care facilities in the rural areas.
“Prime Minister Tarique Rahman has already discussed about this and I believe that he [PM] has a plan to take an initiative to introduce an innovative way comprising the rural health service professionals under (LMAF) which now being remain suspended from 2008 and newly-introduced Community Health Worker (CHW) certificate courses” in the rural areas, he said.
The minister said this while giving a statement responding to a public important notice raised by treasury bench lawmaker Iqramul Bari Tipu of Naogaon-4 under rules 71 of the rules of the procedure at the Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban here with Speaker Major (retd) Hafiz Uddin Ahmed in the chair.
He said, “The new initiative already has been discussed with the Prime Minister and we believe that he [PM] will introduce the rural medical service provider in light of the LMAF course.”
Earlier, the rural people usually get healthcare services from the local medical assistant who was recognized as ‘Palli Doctor’ (village doctor) after completing the LMAF course, a six-month to two-year training programme in Bangladesh designed for rural health practitioners, focusing on basic medicine, pharmacy and family planning.
It prepares individuals for roles like rural doctors or pharmacy managers.
But the issuance of the LMAF course certificate remains suspended by the State Medical Faculty of Bangladesh (SMF), a government institution under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare Ministry, responsible to oversee and regulates the education and training of medical professionals in Bangladesh, from 2008.
Its primary function is to provide medical education to those who are interested in becoming medical professionals in the country.
To make the medical service facilities available for the people, he said the SMF now has introduced a year-long Community Health Worker (CHW) certificate courses to bring the rural health professionals in a well-organised infrastructure aiming to implementing government’s Universal Health Care (UHC) and Essential Service Package (ESP), said the minister.
The newly-introduced course formats training individuals to improve community access to basic health services. The programmes include topics such as anatomy, first aid, pharmacology, and community medicine.
These courses prepare students for roles that bridge communities and health systems, with some offering specialized training for volunteers and professionals.
