The News Today: Satellite-based floating hospital inaugurated
Our Correspondent JAMALPUR, April 1: A satellite-based floating hospital has been inaugurated to provide basic health service to the remote char people in Dewanganj of the district. State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid Bipu inaugurated the maritime VSAT Friendship Floating Hospital at Barkhal char of the upazila as the chief guest on Sunday. SES, a world-leading satellite operator, and FRIENDSHIP, a non-governmental organisation, with technical assistance of Square Informatix (Bangladesh) Ltd, launched the first state-of-the-art Maritime VSATs on three of FRIENDSHIP's floating hospital ships yesterday in Jamalpur. The ships are Emirates Friendship Hospital, Lifebuoy Friendship Hospital and Rongdhonu Friendship Hospital. Emirates is now in Jamalpur while Lifebuoy in Bogra's Sariakandi and Rongdhonu in Kutubdia. Our three ships and 437 satellite clinics including 555 Friendship Community Members will reach around 250,000 people in our project areas, said Enamul Haque, team leader of health and communication of FRIENDSHIP. He also said we provide reproductive health services, maternity health care, child health, eye care, dental care including operation services, X-ray, ECG and other pathological services. SATMED, the newly deployed satellite-based e-health platform will enable Friendship to establish communications with national and international doctors from remote areas. The state Minister at that time said people in the remote areas have been getting improved health services by high technology. He said in this regard various non government organizations extended their helping hand. This is a great initiative in the country that our char people are now able to get a better quality treatment through the satellite e-health programme, he added. The launching ceremony was addressed, among others, by executive director of Friendship Runa Khan, chairman of Friendship, Luxembourg, Marc Elvinger and project manager Maria Mateo Iborra.
