Call for appointing epidemiologists in city corporations

Speakers at a programme on Wednesday called for improved coordination among local government bodies, city corporations and health department for better management in the control and prevention of diseases.
They also accentuated the need for appointing an epidemiologist in every city corporation so that fast and effective decisions could be made in times of the outbreak of any disease.
The suggestions were made at a seminar styled 'City Leadership Summit to Strengthen Urban Public Health System' co-hosted by Save the Children in Bangladesh, and South Asia Field Epidemiology and Technology Network, Inc (Safetynet).
The event was organised with support from the Local Government Division (LGD), and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) at a city hotel.
LGRD and cooperatives minister Md Tazul Islam addressed the programme as the chief guest and US Ambassador in Dhaka Peter D Haas as the special guest.
CDC country director for Bangladesh Dr Neely Kaydos-Daniels and Save the Children country director Onno Van Manen, among others, also spoke there with LGD secretary Muhammad Ibrahim in the chair.
Mayors and representatives of different city corporations, including Gazipur, Rangpur, Mymensingh, Sylhet, Barishal, Cumilla, Narayanganj, Chattogram, Khulna, Rajshahi, Dhaka North and Dhaka South, also spoke at the programme.
In his speech, the minister said city corporations across the country have been empowered by law to provide primary health care to the people.
Referring to a proposal of appointing epidemiologists in city corporations, he said a collective approval from different ministries and departments are needed to bring changes in the organogram.
Mr Islam said health and family welfare ministry is responsible for taking care of urban and rural health care where city corporations can cooperate greatly.
Meanwhile, the US envoy said the entire world has realised the importance of public-health experts, especially epidemiologists, in times of epidemics.
"The Covid-19 pandemic has shown us the poor state of public health systems in [the] developing as well as in [the] developed world," he added.
Mr Haas further said that one recommendation that came up again and again was to permanently incorporate public health and epidemiologists into the structure of city corporations.
Experts also explained how investing in public health and epidemiologists could greatly reduce the costs and impacts of communicable and non-communicable diseases, he cited.
The event was hosted under a collaborative programme styled 'Strengthening Urban Public Health System', funded by CDC, with an eye to providing public health technical assistance to city leaders in their strategic planning and implementation efforts.

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