BANGLADESH

The ICDDR,B has shaved meat, egg and fish off the diet for patients, who are the 'lifeline' of the international health and population research and training institute, raising eyebrows.

The well-funded International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh that enjoys immunity from local taxes and duties has made the decision citing a 'cost containment' plan.

Bangladesh owns and largely funds the institute that gets over Tk 50 million in each fiscal year from the government for patients care. It treats more than 100,000 patients a year at its Mohakhali hospital filled with hundreds of brightly coloured diarrhoea cots with holes in the middle opening to clear buckets beneath.

The medical director of the hospital Dr Mark Pietroni in a Sept 6 letter to all hospital staff said the decision would be 'effective from Sep 11 till further notice.'

'no fish, chicken, mutton and egg will be given in the patient and staff diet unless prescribed by a doctor as part of a therapeutic diet for the patient.'

however, could not gather immediately why the institute braced for cost-cutting measures despite increasing funding from donors and the Bangladesh government.

The sudden penny-pinching has caused deep resentment among ICDDR, B's scientists and employees. Unnamed staff have circulated bulletins among the ICDDR, B staff, a copy of which is also with bdnews24.com.

The bulletin suggests prohibitive salaries for a few of its foreign officials and corruption in the last three years put the centre into a financial tailspin.

A government investigation is underway on the alleged misuse of Tk 1 billion funds allocated for the vertical expansion of the centre's three-storey Mohakhali.

In an email response, Dr Pietroni, however, did not make it clear to whether and why they stopped serving meat, poultry and eggs in the diet.

He only said the patients were given the diet that "their doctors feel is best for them."

Dietician with the ICDDR, B hospital Anowara Begum told  that they got a notice from the hospital authorities to stop serving fish, chickens, mutton and eggs.

"We used to serve any of those items along with vegetables, daal (lentil) and rice," she said, adding that the decision might be revised. "Senior scientists (at the centre) are trying to convince hospital administrators to revise the decision," she said.

A patient, Kamrul Hassan, 26, On Monday that he was given 'vegetables, daal and bhat (rice)' for lunch.

A senior nutritionist in Bangladesh, Akhtarun Nahar said she never heard of such decision at any hospital in her lifetime. "For the first time I heard it from you," the principal nutrition officer of BIRDEM told  when asked.

She said unless a few specific cases like liver cirrhosis and kidney diseases put them on a diet, hospital patients should be served 'improved' diet.

"Even a mother of a breastfed child needs protein-rich food so that she can continue breastfeeding her ailing child.

"I cannot agree with their (ICDDR, B's) decision," she said, adding if they suffer from fund crunch 'they could at least serve eggs for the patients.'

"Its (eggs) cheaper protein," she said.

Health Rights Movement's president Prof Rashid-e-Mahbub termed the ICDDR, B measure 'inhumane'.

"It's a research institute. Patients are their study subjects. It's their (patients) right to get proper services and diet," he said.

The hospital runs a diarrhoeal diseases surveillance for which they draw blood and urine samples from patients.

Health secretary Mohammad Humayun Kabir would not comment on issue since it involves the ICDDR, B's management.

But the secretary, who is also a member of the centre's board of trustees, said he would discuss it in the next board meeting.

The meeting will be held in mid-November. The 16-strong board meets twice a year and endorses the centre's activities.

The only centre of its kind in developing countries, the ICDDR, B was set up through an ordinance in 1978 that also offers a wide range of privileges for its foreign employees including exemption from income tax and privilege of duty-free import of all personal and household items.

The centre is legally mandated to move biological materials in and out of the country.