By Sumi Khan

Dhaka, Feb 25 (IANS): World Health Organisation (WHO) Director-General, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has expressed satisfaction over the development of health infrastructure and services in Bangladesh, and also lauded its success in handling the Covid-19 pandemic.

Bangladesh is a unique example of containing the virus, he said during a courtesy call by Bangladesh's Permanent Representative to the UN and other international organisations in Geneva, Mustafizur Rahman to the WHO headquarters on Tuesday.

Rahman apprised the WHO chief of the initiatives taken by Bangladesh to fight the Covid-19 pandemic and explained in detail the coordinated efforts based on the "Whole-of-the-Government" approach under the leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to combat it.

He also briefed him of the other achievements of Bangladesh in the health sector and reiterated its commitment to implement universal health coverage for all its citizens, according to a press release from the office of Bangladesh's Permanent Representative to the UN in Geneva.

Referring to Bangladesh's flagship initiative of setting up community clinics, the Bangladesh envoy said these clinics had brought the community-based primary healthcare services closer to the people, particularly in the rural, remote, and hard-to-reach areas.

Rahman also shared the Bangladesh government's plan to mainstream mental health, autism, and neuro-developmental disorders in its health policy.

He thanked the WHO for its proactive role, particularly for different initiatives, in the developing countries in containing coronavirus. He also requested Adhanom to make bold efforts to ensure the supply of the coronavirus vaccines is more visible, particularly to the low and middle-income countries, in the framework of the COVAX facility.