BD Islamic University facing medical shortages

We in Canada often complain about the shortage of medical staff in the country. I have myself witnessed the ridiculous waiting times that result from the relatively low number of doctors and nurses who work in Quebec.

As this fascinating map and the accompanying data show, Canada has 470 people per doctor, whereas the US has only 390 (I know that millions lack access to medical care there, but here I'm talking about supply, rather than distribution). My native Belarus has 220 people per doctor, which means that Canadian-style waiting times are virtually unknown there.

Bangladesh, on the other hand, has 3,800 people per physician. That means that Canada has eight times as many doctors per unit population as Bangladesh.

The Dhaka Daily Star reports that the medical centre of the Islamic University, located in the Kushtia District, currently has only ten doctors and nine nurses for the 12,000 students, faculty and staff at the university. The rate of 1,200 people per doctor is still much better than the Bangladeshi average. To make matters worse, though, two of the doctors are currently on leave. The medical centre has only two pharmacists, which often results in "peons and computer operators" being press-ganged into pharmacy duty to deal with the sheer numbers of patients in need of medication.

The medical centre has asked the vice-chancellor of the university, M. Alauddin, for additional staff, and is currently reduced to "waiting for steps in this regard".

I wonder if Alauddin has the financial wherewithal at hand to be able to fulfill the request.

There are many people in Bangladesh who are much more vulnerable than Islamic University students. Consider helping if you can.