Turkey keen to help build new wing at BSMMU
February 14, 2010
Turkey showed keen interest to help Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU) become a state-of-the-art tertiary healthcare facility as well as a world-class medical institute.
Turkish Health Minister Prof Recep Akdag gave the assurance in this regard during his visit to the university-cum-hospital yesterday morning.
Prof Recep, who is accompanying Turkish President Abdullah Gul, visited outdoor and indoor facilities, intensive care unit, neonatal intensive care unit, operation theatre and post-operative ward of BSMMU, the country’s lone medical university.
“Turkey would be happy to help BSMMU build a separate and new unit on its vacant lands,” Prof Recep was quoted as saying to BSMMU Vice Chancellor Prof Pran Gopal Datta.
The Turkish minister said his country would send a four-member delegation to Bangladesh soon to assess the needs of BSMMU, a facility now looking to find partners to improve its overall structure and services both for academic and healthcare purposes.
Prof Pran Gopal Datta expressed his gratitude for the Turkish assurance and said BSMMU is ready to provide any of its four vacant plots for such developments.
He said the university has vacant lands on its own premises, near Aziz Market, adjacent to BCS Training Academy and behind the Shahbagh gas station.
“We also sought Turkish support in the fields of technology transfer that include high-tech medical equipment and exchange of medical professionals,” said the vice chancellor, adding that he was happy with the warmth of reciprocity from the Turkish health minister, also a physician by profession.
Prof Ahmad Amin, chairman of ENT department, said the modalities of the Turkish support would be finalised after visits of delegations from both sides to Bangladesh and Turkey, but insisted that the proposed new wing at BSMMU is likely to be named as ‘Turkey-Bangladesh Friendship Wing’.
He also said the Turkish health minister appreciated the ‘cleanliness’ of the hospital-cum-university and said Prof Recep has commented that “good management and good wishes together can lead to offer good services even under resource constraints”.
“Turkey offers healthcare as good as other European countries with much low per capita budget for medicare,” the minister was quoted as saying. According to Prof Recep, Turkey spends US dollar 500-700 per person per year as against of US dollar 3,000-4,000 in western European countries and US dollar 7,000 in the United States.
Prof Amin said the minister has talked to ailing people, especially elderly and children, and wished their early recovery. He also sought doa from the people for peace and prosperity of the peoples of Bangladesh and Turkey.
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