A Round-Table Dialogue entitled " Present Situation of Health Services: Opportunities, Challenges and Way-Forward" was held on 6 December 2022, Tuesday, with the support of The Asia Foundation and organized by Bangladesh NGO's Network for Radio and Communication (BNNRC).

A total of 40 participants including representatives of civil society organizations, government officials, and officers of the NGO Affairs Bureau (NGOAB) were present in the dialogue organized in the meeting room of the NGO Affairs Bureau, Prime Minister's Office, Agargaon, Dhaka.

The objective of the dialogue was to inform the concerned policy-makers about the achievements, results and summary of the multi-stakeholders seminar held at the division and district level of Bangladesh and to discuss how to involve and encourage other civil society organizations and development partners in implementing projects on health services issues by using the outcomes of and considering this project as a replicable model project. 

The Deputy Director (General) [In-charge] and Assignment Officer-1 (Senior Assistant Secretary) of NGOAB Ms. Mushtanjida Pervin welcomed all the participants at the beginning of the meeting. The Administrative Officer (In-Charge) of NGOAB Mr. Bahadur Raichur Rahman moderated the session. 

Mr. AHM Bazlur Rahman, Chief Executive Officer of BNNRC, said that the purpose of today's dialogue is to discuss the Present Status of Health Services, Opportunities, Challenges and Way Forward to improve the capacity of the health sector. He said, “Under this initiative, we have provided 25 health journalists (ToT) Training of Trainers and 85 journalists in 4 regional trainings have been given ideas on fact-checking and evaluation techniques in health reporting. 6 seminars have been completed at the district and divisional levels. Moreover, under this initiative, 50 Health Journalists of print, electronic and online media in Dhaka and outside of Dhaka have been awarded to enable them to produce in-depth reports on health issues. 200 reports are being prepared under the fellowship.”

Public health expert and consultant Mr. Rehan Uddin Ahmed Raju delivered the keynote presentation.

The Director (Project-2) & [Joint Secretary] of NGOAB Mr. Md. Moklesur Rahman, ndc; and the Director (Joint Secretary), Reg. and Audit Mr. Md. Anwar Hossain delivered their speeches as the honorable special guests of the meeting session.

The Director General (Additional Secretary) of NGOAB Mr. SK. Md. Moniruzzaman was present in the meeting as the chief guest. He said it is important to raise public awareness to make them willing to receive medical treatment and see doctors in case of a medical emergency. The people of the remote areas are often reluctant to take the female members of their family to the hospital even when it is required to. 

Mr. Tapan Kumar Biswas, Director (Project-1) & [Joint Secretary] of NGOAB presided over the meeting. He discussed informally the to-dos as a public and as a designated official. He said that everyone can contribute to the development of the country by simply performing his / her duties and thus being a responsible citizen.

It is hoped that the issues raised due to the speech and open discussion at the round table dialogue will be able to play a helpful and effective role in encouraging other civil society organizations and development organizations about initiating and implementing more effective projects on health services issues and consequently in this way, ensuring quality healthcare for all and will draw the attention of the policymakers.