Moudud Ahmed Sujan

A picture of infighting within the health ministry has been emerging after the government removed health service division secretary Md Asadul Islam on Thursday, amidst widespread criticism of the health sector’s failure to play a robust role in tackling the coronavirus outbreak.

He was transferred to the Planning Division while Md Abdul Mannan, who was the Land Reform Board chairman, has replaced him.

Although the government has not publicly said anything about the transfer, it is understood that the move has been aimed at fleecing out friction and lack of coordination in the health ministry among Health Minster Zahid Maleque, Md Asadul Islam and organs of the ministry like the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) and the Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research (IEDCR).

Besides, ever since the Covid-19 pandemic hit the country in March, the health ministry has been blamed for some missteps and its failure to provide necessary PPE to healthcare professionals in the early stages of the outbreak. The ministry has also been seen as culpable for not resorting to aggressive testing and tracing from the very beginning, ultimately contributing to community transmission and the present situation of deaths and infections rising every other day.