Nursing profession to be upgraded to world standard: PM

 

The  Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina,  renewed her commitment to further strengthen the nursing profession in Bangladesh to a world-class standard, and help to secure a better economic environment for them, with enhanced nurses' social dignity.

Announcing a huge package plan for this sector of healthcare, the Prime Minister also pledged that her Government would send more nurses abroad, after imparting higher training. "Already our Government has started working in this regard. Programmes are being taken to incorporate English, French and Arabic languages in the nursing curriculum to send skilled nurses to developed countries of Europe, America and the Middle East," she mentioned during an  award-giving function of the best nurses. Furthermore, the Prime Minister announced that  the Government has taken step a to set up the Commission on General Foreign Nursing System (CGFNS) for adopting  modern nursing courses here.

The Government has also taken measures to increase seats in the existing nursing institutes, and set up five new nursing institutes and turning 4 institutes into nursing colleges, the Prime Minister announced. Besides, she disclosed government plans for setting up nursing colleges in every divisional headquarter, nursing institutes in every district, and nursing college with every medical college of the country.

Sheikh Hasina was addressing the distribution ceremony of gold medals and citations to the 'Best Nurses' arranged by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare at the Osmani Memorial Auditorium in Dhaka, in June  2009. The  Health Minister Dr AFM Ruhal Haque,  Adviser to the Prime Minister Prof. Dr Syed Mudasser Ali, World Health Organization (WHO) Representative Dr Duangvadee Sungkhobol, and Director, Nursing, Jahanara Begum, also spoke on the occasion. The Secretary of the Health Ministry,  Sheikh Altaf Ali, chaired the event. Under the fiscal year 2007-2008, 62 nurses were given the gold medals and citations in the 'Best Nurse' category. Seven nurses were also given gold medals for their outstanding results in the third-year final examination on the  Diploma in Nursing Course.