Message: Health Adviser

I congratulate the members of Infection Control and Prevention Program in Bangladesh (ICPPB) who are celebrating the completion of their 3 years of activities on infection control.

Nosocomial infections are a major cause of death and disability worldwide. It has been estimated that in developing countries around four thousand children die everyday due hospital acquired infection. According to WHO report, nosocomial infection rate in Southeast Asian countries is around 10%. Unfortunately, we do not have enough national documents to know its exact rate in Bangladesh. We need to have such documents in future.

I was present in the second international seminar conducted by ICPPB which was held at National museum, Dhaka in 2006 and was very impressed to observe that the resource persons from home and abroad discussed on practical issues related to infection control that included role of hand hygiene, safe disposal of hospital waste and judicious use of antibiotics.

I would like to emphasize that every hospital should have one infection control committee. It is encouraging to know that some of the corporate hospitals and a few of the private hospitals have already started infection control program. But it is a matter of concern that practice of infection control is yet to be implemented in government hospitals.

Finally I want to thank Dr. Ziauddin from Drexel University and his other colleagues from USA for initiating this program in Bangladesh.

I wish great success of ICPPB. I also assure that they will receive all possible supports from us.

 

Maj. Gen. (Rtd) Dr, ASM Motiur Rahman
Honorable Advisor
The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare,
Water Resources and Religious Affairs
People’s Republic of Bangladesh