Transparency and accountability in the procurement and distribution of Covid-19 vaccines must be ensured, demanded Committee for the Protection of Fundamental Rights yesterday.
In a statement, on behalf of the committee, eminent jurist Shahdeen Malik said the health minister has recently informed people about the government’s process to procure Covid-19 vaccine from various sources.
As per its latest announcement, people have been informed that about 10 crore vaccines will be collected by the government.
“First of all, we welcome this initiative and we are sure that vaccination will start in the country very soon. But we urge the government to provide adequate information to people about the news of the import of vaccines through the mediation of non-government organisations,” reads the statement.
“In particular, we urge the government to provide the citizens with detailed information on whether the legal requirements were met and competitive bids were invited for the selection and identification of the said public limited company,” the statement also added.
“We are concerned that since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, widespread corruption in various sectors of the state, especially in the health sector, has been exposed or reported in the news. We fear that if transparency and accountability in the procurement and distribution of these vaccines are not ensured, hundreds of crores of taka of the government may be misappropriated and particular quarter may benefit from it through illegal means.”
The committee also demanded that a policy is formulated on vaccination on a priority basis.
It also urged the government to hold a press conference at least once a week to ensure transparency and accountability, inform people about the details of each process and its associated costs and who will get priority in getting the vaccines.
