By NNN-BSS,
Dhaka : Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Wednesday renewed her stern warning against the physicians, who are not interested in providing healthcare services to the people in the rural areas on a regular basis.
“Now I am requesting you to stay in the rural areas and discharge your sacred duties regularly basis there. We will be compelled to take stern actions against those physicians who will defy the instruction of the government to this effect,” she said.
The Prime Minister issued the note of warning while inaugurating the World Breast Feeding Week-2010 at Bangabandhu International Conference Centre here Wednesday morning.
She gave the warning as many of the physicians specially the newly recruited doctors don’t want to go to the upazilas after being posted there which seriously deprived the rural people of getting proper healthcare services.
In this context, Sheikh Hasina said promotion of the doctors would certainly depend on their length of services and performances in the villages.
The World Breast Feeding Week-2010 is being officially observed for the first time in the country as directed by the Prime Minister in the same week last year.
The Prime Minister called upon the mothers for ensuring breast-feeding to their children saying that children will grow up with sound mind and body if they get breast milk properly.
She asked all concerned to set up breast feeding corners at all hospitals, offices, shopping malls and other important places where mothers could feed their breast milk to their children.
She said along with setting up new breast feeding corners, steps have been taken to reactivate such corners, which were set up during the previous tenure of the present government from 1996-2001.
She directed the authorities concerned to amend and implement Alternative Baby Food Marketing Ordinance – 1984 to encourage breast-feeding and reduce dependency on powder milk for the protection of sound health of mothers and children.
About maternity leave, the Prime Minister said her present government has taken steps to increase the leave up to six months from the existing four months. She said her previous government increased the leave from three months to four months.