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“We are undertaking short, medium, and long-term projects to ensure adequate healthcare services and the nutrition of the people in line with the mission and vision of 2041, set by the visionary Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina” Mohammad Shahjahan
Shamsul Hoque Basunia and G.R Parvez
The incumbent government led by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is dedicated to ensuring international standard healthcare services for the countrymen in line with SDGs (sustainable development goals) attainment by 2030 and to turning Bangladesh into a developed country by 2041 envisioned by the father of the nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. Against this backdrop, the National Institute of Population Research and Training (NIPORT under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare) introduced a frontline warrior to achieve the target of the incumbent government through conducting time-befitting training and research on public health.
“NIPORT is the largest public training and research institution, dealing to address health issues and research work by maintaining the international standard research work”, told the Director General of National Institute of Population, Research and Training (NIPORT) Mohammad Shahjahan to the Daily tribunal while giving an exclusive interview recently at his office in the capital. However, the conversation is given in below for readers’ interest and to raise mass awareness of health-related issues.
Daily Tribunal Question: Would you mind expressing about NIPORT and how it is putting an impact-oriented role in ensuring standard healthcare services to the countrymen?
Mohammad Shahjahan: National Institute of Population Research and Training (NIPORT) was formed in 1978 and its current mission is to provide task-oriented in-service training to health and family planning program personnel and conduct program focused studies and operations research in Health & population sector Program in Bangladesh. Talking about the overall goal of the organization, he said, the overall goal of NIPORT is to improve the health status of families and the purpose of NIPORT training and research activities is to create the program managers and service providers to provide quality healthcare services, especially reproductive and child health care in the communities. Our objectives are related to the overall goal of health and population sector programs as well as to improve health and family welfare through birth spacing and better status, particularly for mothers and children. “The role of NIPORT is to enhance the coverage and quality of Health and Family Welfare services through organizing training and undertaking appropriate research studies”, he added.
Daily Tribunal Question: What is the aim of NIPORT research?
Mohammad Shahjahan: The aim of the research activities is to identify the health, population, and nutrition issues of the countrymen, and for that, we are undertaking ‘The Strategic Plan of NIPORT 2021-2041 in line with the target of the incumbent government to make a developed country. We are undertaking short, medium, and long-term projects to ensure adequate healthcare services and the nutrition of the people in line with the mission and vision of 2041, set by the visionary Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. NIPORT is putting its utmost effort to improve health care and health education.
Daily Tribunal Question: Would you share with us your programs in line with SDGs and Developed Country attainment?
Mohammad Shahjahan: As per the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS), the current population is 170 million which will grow significantly in the upcoming days. We conducting research programs to consider the density of the population. Bangladesh has made robust economic growth riding on the higher RMG export income and manpower, he said adding that the health sector also gained tremendous progress in the last few decades. A good number of world-class infrastructures have been built. Apart from this, modern equipment and laboratories have been installed in the health sector and almost all types of treatment are now available in the country. Riding on our recommendations, the authority appointed about 10,000 doctors and 15,000 health workers in between 2 and 3 years as part of the preventive measure of the pandemic. In the fiscal year, 2020-2021 and 2021-2022 NIPORT has studied 14 topics including Bangladesh Urban Health Survey (BUHS) 2021, Assess Existing Referral System of Health and Family Planning Program in Bangladesh: For Strengthening the System, Public-Private Partnership to expand access to Reproductive Health, Assessment of Institutional Capacity and Quality of Training Conducted by NIPORT, Prevalence of Pregnancy Induced Hypertension and its Determinants in Bangladeshi Population, Situation Analysis of Stress and Stress-coping among Adolescent, Utilization of Community Clinic Services: Providers & Client Perspectives, Determine the Role of Local Government in Facilitating Reproductive Health and Nutrition Services in Bangladesh, Family Planning Programs for Refugees and Internally Displaced Population, Developing Directory and Service Profile of Public, Private and NGO Sector Health Facilities, Family Planning-Maternal, Child, Reproductive and Adolescent Health Services in the Urban Areas (City Corporations, Municipalities and Cantonment Board), Utilization of Essential Service Delivery (UESD) Survey 2020, Comparative Analysis of Maternal Health Services, and Comparative Analysis of Nutritional Status among children.
Daily Tribunal Question: What are your upcoming programs as part of the challenges of the pandemic, the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, and the 4th industrial revolution?
Mohammad Shahjahan: Considering the global turmoil resulting from the adversity of the pandemic and the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, we are undertaking the time-befitting programs. NIPORT plans to implement 16 more following research woks to be done on health, population, and nutrition in the ongoing fiscal 2022-23 including Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey (BDHS) 2022, Bangladesh Health Facility Survey (BHFS) 2022, An Assessment of Hospital Service Management in Bangladesh, Availability and Readiness of Geriatric Health Care in Bangladesh, Assessment of the workload of MCH-FP Services Providers (SACMOs & FWVs), Knowledge, Attitude and Health System Response for Management of Menopause in Bangladesh, Access to and Health Care Seeking Behavior Among Ethnic Minorities and Tea Pickers, Assessment of FWVs Performance in terms of Basic Training, Preparedness of Health Workforce in Providing Health Care Services during the disaster, Assessment of Knowledge, Attitude and Practice among Bangladeshi Adults on NCDs, Determinants of low use of Maternal Health Services at hard to reach areas in Bangladesh, Effect of Working Environment on Reproductive health of Garments Workers, Measuring Effect of Covid-19 on Essential MCH-FP Services in Bangladesh, Improvement of Readiness in Health Facilities for Providing Health and FP Services, Strengthen Diagnostics and Referral system in Health and Family Planning Facilities, and Sexual and Reproductive Health Services in remote and hard to reach areas of Bangladesh.