BANGLADESH

Fighting against wide-ranging contagious viruses, the authorities are finally strategising on a unique platform — taking all living creatures into equation to wage a common war.

As part of the design, experts have assembled in Dhaka to draft a 'one health' strategy for Bangladesh. This comes against a backdrop of emerging infectious diseases, such as avian and pandemic influenza, SARS, anthrax and nipah that threaten both human and animal health.

Once adopted, the strategy would be the first of its kind in the world.

"It (one-health approach) is an understanding that the health of humans, animals and of the environment is inextricably linked," said Prof Nitish C Debnath, coordinator of 'One Health Bangladesh' project.

He said the strategy would find ways to promote health safety of all species, and can be achieved "only through collaboration, cooperation and coordination across disciplines, professions and sectors".

"Our mission is changing from a focus on individual diseases and disciplines to looking at health across the lifetime," he said.

Bangladesh has experienced repeated outbreaks of avian influenza (commonly known as bird flu), nipah and anthrax of late.

With its devastating effect on the poultry industry, bird flu is even now hurting 52 of the country's 64 districts.

In 2010, an outbreak of anthrax from cows afflicted more than 600 people, apart from 100-plus livestock, in 15 districts.

And returning like an annual haunting spectacle, the ongoing nipah virus infection has killed all infected patients in Joypurhat.

A NEW DISEASE EVERY EIGHTH MONTH

Prof Nitish Debnath said: "We got 35 new diseases over the last 25 years, and 75 percent of them are zoonotic, meaning they are transmissible across species. Based on this pattern, we can say we are getting a new disease every eight months."

Globally, Bangladesh witnessed the onset of avian influenza in 1997, nipah virus infection in 1999, hantavirus in 1993, SARS in 2002, and Prion and HIV in the 1980s, he said.

Prof Debnath said they are even more "intriguing" in terms of their cross-species transmissibility. "And here lies the importance of one-health approach," he stressed.

BRAINSTORMING UNDERWAY

Besides the ministries of health, fisheries and livestock and environment, the five-day brainstorming effort to draft the national strategy has representation from UN agencies FAO, WHO and Unicef as well.

UNICEF chief of health Dr Lianne Kuppens said a strong collaboration is needed to contain the spread of emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases. "Emerging infectious diseases pose enormous challenge as the threat is invisible because (these) diseases are still evolving, or exist in limited pockets of wildlife or livestock," she said.

With this framework of one health, she said, Bangladesh reaffirms the need to shift off crisis response to focusing on building systems to combat emerging infectious diseases.

Health secretary Md Humayun Kabir told that activities of different ministries would be pinpointed as part of the strategy. "There will be clear instructions on which ministry would do what work during any situation of disease outbreak," he said.

At the inauguration of the workshop on Sunday night, fisheries and livestock minister Abdul Latif Biswas said the strategy is vital to expand and institutionalise existing inter-ministerial collaboration. He also asked experts to consider the context of Bangladesh while drafting the strategic paper.

"The strategy should be practical and actionable, and I hope you will consider this while drafting the strategy framework," the minister said, addressing experts assembled for the session.

NEED TO OVERCOME BARRIERS

Prof Debnath said there are challenges to adopt the one-health concept, the most important being the need for "key leadership" to embrace the concept and execute programmes on a national and international basis.

"Its success also depends on overcoming many barriers, including changing the mindset of healthcare providers from disease care to preventive medicine," he pointed out.

He said research should be undertaken by pooling insight and expertise of professionals from the fields of health, veterinary, agriculture and environmental. "The main emphasis is on working to enhance the quality of life, and to respond to change occurring around the globe at large, and specifically in Bangladesh," he said.

The Jahangirnagar University has decided to rusticate seven students for their alleged involvement in the murder of English department student Zubair Ahmed.

Of these, three are already expelled by the vice-chancellor's decision. At a meeting on Monday, the university syndicate decided to permanently expel them after a probe committee submitted their report, registrar Abu Bakr Siddique told reporters.

The students are: Ashiqul Islam, Khan Mohammad Rais and Jahid Hassan of zoology, Rashedul Islam Raju and Istiak Mahbub Arup of philosophy, Mahbub Akram of government and politics and Nazmus Sakib Tapu of biochemistry.

Along with them, six others have been expelled for two years. All the students are from the university's 37th batch (session 2007-08).

"Police have been asked to include ten more names in the case filed by the university in Zubair's death," Siddique said.

The syndicate had also decided to compensate Zubair's family with Tk 200,000 and employ one of his family members.

Another probe committee had been formed to look into the scuffle at a teachers' committee meeting, the registrar added.

Zubair, a final year undergraduate student of English literature, died at the United Hospital in Dhaka on Jan 9 from excessive bleeding from wounds he had suffered the day before. He was beaten severely, allegedly by activists of a Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) faction on the campus.

The faction is said to be patronised by vice-chancellor professor Sharif Enamul Kabir himself – a charge he denied.

The Bangladesh Nationalist Party's Rajshahi metropolitan unit has called a half-day strike in the city on Tuesday after one person was killed in a clash between Jamaat-e-Islami activists and police on Monday.

Shafiqul Islam Shafique, a ward boy of the town's Islami Medical College Hospital, was shot dead in the afternoon when the activists of key ally of main opposition BNP clashed with the law enforcers during an antigovernment procession in the northwestern city.

Former Rajshahi mayor and metropolitan BNP unit president Mijanur Rahman Minu announced Tuesday's shutdown at a press briefing held at the city BNP unit office in the evening.

Though, Rajshahi Metropolitan Police commissioner Mohammad Obaidullah confirmed the clash and the death, but claimed that Shafique was not shot by police.

"Police did not fire any bullets, they only shot teargas shells," he clarified.

Regional connectivity is crucial for greater trade among SAARC countries and would help the region achieve its potential, prime minister Sheikh Hasina said on Monday.

"As leaders, we must ensure greater cooperation in enhancing regional connectivity," Hasina said at the inaugural ceremony of the fifth SAARC finance ministers' meeting at a city hotel.

Finance ministers of the eight SAARC countries and other senior officials are taking part in the meeting.

Hasina said regional connectivity would ensure all-round prosperity for people of the region.

FISCAL PRESSURE AMID GLOBAL RECESSION

Crises in Eurozone and the US have adversely affected South Asian countries, with fiscal space now becoming very limited, the prime minister said at the meeting.

"Expansionary economic policy is difficult to sustain for long and levels of public debt have also gone up," she noted.

According to Hasina, global inflationary pressure "is very strong" and instability in foreign exchange rates "is very risky". "In such a situation, there is a need for concerted action by SAARC," she said.

The prime minister also emphasised the need for faster dismantling of non-tariff and para-tariff barriers. "The progress on harmonisation of product standard must also be speeded up," she said.

About the 'sensitive list' among countries of the region, the prime minister said the process to reduce this list is slow and urged that it must include major goods of export interest.

DOWNSIDE RISK

Finance minister AMA Muhith, as chairman of the meeting, said there are some downside risk that can affect the SAARC countries.

Amid the current economic flux, he said, there may be problems in remittance inflow or slackness in export growth. "Oil export can increase the price of primary commodity."

"SAARC countries need to identify factors that destabilise economies and take necessary action," he added.

Finance secretary Mohammad Tareq said some countries in the region have already felt the pinch of the global crisis but added that Bangladesh was moving in a direction of higher growth.

Earlier, on Sunday, finance secretaries of the SAARC countries discussed regional cooperation and put forward their recommendations during the meeting of the ministers.

Dhaka Water Supply and Sewerage Authority (WASA) has dropped the hint that water tariff may be increased to prevent waste in the subsidised sector.

At a views-exchange meeting in the city on the use of water on Monday, WASA managing director Taksim A Khan said that there was no alternative to raising the price of water to check its wastage.

He said that the water tariff in Dhaka city was comparatively low than any other cities across the world.

"It will be very difficult to run the organisation by providing subsidy if the water tariff is not increased," he added.

The water tariff was increased to Tk 6.66 from Tk 6.34 for 1000 liters of water (1 unit) on Aug 1 last year for the last time.

In 2009, WASA charged Tk 5.57 per unit which was raised in 2010 to Tk 6.04 in the first phase and Tk 6.34 in the second phase.

The Dhaka WASA chief said the process to repair and replace the shabby pipelines was in progress. "The work has already started by dividing the whole city into 81 areas and it is expected to be completed by the next two years."

The WASA pipelines in a number of areas have become ramshackle over the years causing leakage of a huge quantity of water on the one hand and disruption in water supply on the other.

Khan claimed that the wastage and illegal business in water take place mostly in the slum areas.

International Training Network (ITN) Centre of the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) organised the discussion at the National Press Club.

Reading out the keynote paper, ITN director Prof Mohammad Mofizur Rahman stressed on the use of water from alternative sources by reducing dependence on ground water, considering the growing demand.

Former chief engineer of the Public Health Engineering Directorate Aminuddin Ahmed and incumbent chief engineer Mohammad Nuruzzaman, among others, also spoke in the programme.

Bangladesh will not impose any transit fees on India and will rather collect all charges permitted under GATT, a prime minister's advisor said on Monday.

"There is no such term (as) transit fee in 'books', and the government should strictly follow the principles laid down in GATT and transport economics," Mashiur Rahman, who advises prime minister Sheikh Hasina on economic affairs, told .

"We will evaluate all admissible charges stipulated in GATT and add up all charges to fix a single figure," he said. "Our plan is to make a transit deal with India following international practice to fix admissible charges stipulated in GATT."

He said the amount would be linked with the volume of cargo and long-term business prospect.

"If the government can assure that India can enjoy the service for long-term with quality service ensured, the amount will be higher," he explained.

Rahman, however, had said at a seminar in October last year that transit and transshipment fee would be fixed in the next renewal meeting of protocol on Inland Water Transit and Trade, to be held before this March 31.

Transit has become a thorny issue between Dhaka and Delhi, especially after the neighbouring countries failed to strike an interim Teesta deal during Indian prime minister Manmohan Singh's Dhaka visit last September.

GOING FOR LUMP SUM

On Monday, advisor Mashiur Rahman said it would be inefficient for Bangladesh to charge Indian cargoes on a per-tonne-per-kilometre basis. He said the country should rather charge a lump sum amount.

"When determining the lump sum figure, all admissible charges allowed by GATT will be taken into consideration," he explained.

"We have to evaluate efficiency of operations, stability of the friendly Bangladesh-Indian regimes, conformity of GATT principles and transport economics before taking any transit decision."

About the Jan 28 meeting at the Indian prime minister's office, where it was decided to 'consider providing additional money, if need be, to ensure night navigation facilities on Indo-Bangladesh Protocol route', Rahman remarked, "Why should we say no if they want to give us more money?"

India pays Bangladesh Tk 55 million each year to maintain navigability of transit routes.

The meeting also decided that the Indian foreign ministry would try to extend the period of Inland Trade and Transit Protocol beyond March 2012, when it comes for renewal to provide longer certainty to vessel operators, according to a media release of the Indian PMO.

"Further efforts shall be made for early completion of Ashuganj multi-modal port by Bangladesh and its regular use as a transit port," the release said.

Dhaka signed protocol on Inland Water Transit and Trade (IWTT) in New Delhi in 1972. As per the protocol, Indian cargoes can travel from one part of the country to another through Bangladesh.

NEGOTIATIONS ON-GOING

Rahman said the shipping ministry is negotiating with its counterpart to renew the IWTT protocol. The ministry, he said, would consult the core committee's report before taking any decision.

The core committee on transit formed by the government has submitted its final report.

Asked about regular transit movement, he said it was never stopped. "There were several trial runs on multi-modal transit but now there is no barrier to regular movement."

The first commercial transshipment under trial run was held through Ashuganj port on Sept 28 last year.

Shafiqul Islam Shafique, the man who died allegedly in a clash between police and Jamaat-e-Islami workers, had been forced to go to the Jamaat procession, his brother claimed.

Police say they did not fire on the mass procession that Jamaat's Rajshahi unit took out on Monday afternoon.

His elder brother Rafiqul Islam said Shafique was not involved in politics. "We heard that the procession was standing at a place peacefully when the clashes began. My brother died when he was running away. We heard that he was shot," Rafique said.

He added that the deceased was a receptionist at the town's Islami Medical College Hospital.

"You have to say you are a Shibir [Jamaat student wing Islami Chhatra Shibir] member if you want a job at Islami Bank. My brother also got his job that way," Rafique said.

Rafiqul, who works in a private clinic's pathology section, said all employees of the Islami Bank Hospital were forced to go to the procession.

"Shafique was forced to go, to save his job," he said.

He said the family wanted to bury Shafique at Hetem Khan graveyard after the post mortem on Tuesday. Shafique had a seven-year old son. According to Rafique, he started working right after high school to support the family.

A purportedly Jamaat-e-Islami activist died when the opposition supporters clashed with police in Rajshahi City on Monday.

The deceased, Shafiqul Islam Shafique, was a receptionist at the town's Islami Medical College Hospital, his brother Rafiqul Islam told .

Police also detained 47 people during the clash in the afternoon.

Main opposition BNP's Rajshahi metropolitan unit will enforce a half-day general strike in the city from 6am on Tuesday in protest at the death and arrests.

Former Rajshahi mayor and city unit chief Mizanur Rahman Minu announced the shutdown at a press briefing held at the city BNP unit office in the evening.

Several Rajshahi unit leaders of Jamaat, a key ally of BNP, did not receive phone calls made to ask for their comments.

Rajshahi Metropolitan Police commissioner Mohammad Obaidullah confirmed the incident but claimed that Shafique was not shot by police.

Monday's event is an echo to Sunday's clashes between police and opposition BNP activists which left four people dead in Chandpur and Laxmipur during BNP's processions across the country.

Eyewitnesses said Jamaat activists took out the procession in the city as part of the opposition's antigovernment agitation in the afternoon. Violence erupted when police obstructed their procession.

Commissioner Obaidullah told that police only fired rubber bullets and teargas shells to disperse the gathering. "One has died during the clash. But police did not fire any bullet."

Two Jamaat activists including Shafique were injured in the clash. He died on his way to Rajshahi Medical College Hospital.

A RMCH doctor seeking anonymity told Shafique was brought in dead. When asked about his wounds, he said the doctors had not examined the wounds and nothing could be said before the post mortem.

His brother said Shafique was not involved with any political party.

"Police obstructed the procession as they took it out to create chaos. That's why they assaulted the police," the police official said.

Minu, however, claimed, "Police attacked the Jamaat leaders and activists while they were preparing for the four-party-alliance procession in the city's Loknath School. One of the Jamaat activists died from their bullets."

In a media release on late Monday evening BNP declared a three-day nationwide mourning to protest what it said were the deaths of antigovernment 'demonstrators' in police firing on processions on Sunday and Monday.

The programmes include raising black flags at party offices, lowering the party flag, protest rallies at the district and Upazila headquarters on Tuesday and special prayers at mosques on Feb 3.