Health and Family Welfare Minister Mohammad Nasim today said the government is sincerely working to improve quality of medical education for ensuring better healthcare facilities.

"We will not make any compromise with medical education...without improvement of medical education, we could not create skilled medical professionals," he told during the launching ceremony of Healthy Bangladesh in the LGED auditorium at Agargaon.

President of BMDC Prof Mohammad Shahidullah, Founder of Gono Shasthaya Kendra Dr Zafarullah Chowdhury, Country Representative of Water Aid, Bangladesh, Dr Khairul Islam, physicians and professionals and members of civil society, among others, addressed the function while Executive Director of Power and Participation Research Centre (PPRC) and convenor of Healthy Bangladesh Hossain Zillur Rahman moderated. Nasim said, "We have to remove manpower shortage in the health sector, if we want to provide better and smooth healthcare facilities to the people.

"Taking this into consideration, the present government has recruited 6,000 physicians within short time overcoming complicated recruitment process, he added."Alongside recruitment of doctors, we have recruited nearly 10,000 nurses at the quickest to remove manpower crisis at the public hospitals and health complexes", the minister added.

There are nearly 40,000 posts vacant in different stages in the health sector, Nasim said, adding, "We have to ease completed recruitment process to fill up vacant posts in the health sector, which eventually will ensure better and quality healthcare services."

He said all private medical colleges are under strict monitoring to comply with conditions of the private medical college policy. "We are overseeing academic activities of all private medical colleges to improve medical education in the country," the minister said.

Nasim said, "Some private medical colleges were set up ignoring conditions of private medical college policy. We are intensifying our efforts to implement private medical college policy to improve medical education and create brilliant physicians in the country."

Dr Zafarullah said, "We need to enhance quality medical education to ensure better healthcare facilities in the country. It is urgent to create adequate number of medical professionals to remove manpower shortage in the heath sector."

Other speakers stressed the need for updating curriculum incorporating more clinical courses for ensuring quality medical education.