The first phase of the ‘Free Medical Services’ program organized by Bangladesh Ansar and Village Defense Force, with the aim of transforming the commitment of public defense into humanitarian welfare and bringing modern healthcare services to the doorsteps of marginalized and underprivileged communities, has been successfully completed.

This exceptional program has further strengthened the people-friendly and people-oriented role of the force, in addition to ensuring the health of field-level VDP members and the general public on the eve of the national elections.

On Thursday (January 29), Bangladesh Ansar and Village Defense Force Director General Major General Abdul Motaleb Sajjad Mahmud delivered a speech as the chief guest at the closing ceremony held in Maheshkhali, Cox’s Bazar district, virtually from the headquarters. He said, “The Ansar and Village Defence Force had health care activities earlier, but the main aim of this initiative was to ensure the quality of service and to provide modern technology-based medical services to the marginalized people.”

In his closing remarks, he also mentioned that the maximum number of Ansar and VDP members will be serving in the upcoming national elections. In this context, the spontaneous participation and enthusiasm of the service recipients in the medical service program that started on December 27 last year has brought the force closer to the people and strengthened the foundation of public trust.

The Director General said that the rare ability of this force to reach remote and inaccessible areas of the country has added a new dimension to the health care of the marginalized people.

Highlighting the future plans, he said, “The Ansar-VDP Academy Hospital will be more closely involved in this program to ensure healthcare for about three crore people, including more than 6 million members of the force and their families.”

” Mentioning healthcare as an essential element of human security, he expressed hope that this strong public welfare initiative of Ansar and VDP will further strengthen the social security circle.

At the event, Chittagong Range Commander Dr. Md. Saifur Rahman said that areas where medical services are limited have been selected for 15 medical camps in seven districts.

He said, “Under the Director General’s humanitarian administration, various services including general medicine, child and maternal health and eye care have been made available to remote areas through the ‘Sanjeevan’ project, which is a practical and successful reflection of the concept of ‘administration for good governance’.

Discussing the experience of the program, Dr. Mohammad Elias, Assistant Professor and Neurosurgeon of Bashundhara’s Ad-Din Medical College, said, “This medical service provision with a combination of portable labs, generators and state-of-the-art technology is a shining example of the humanitarian administration of Bangladesh Ansar and Village Defense Force.

“He expressed hope that this initiative will make better medical services more accessible to people in remote areas in the future.

Mridul Hasan, Managing Director of Mridul’s Communication, the coordinating organization, said that it was a very satisfying and unique experience of social responsibility to ensure quality medical services in remote areas, especially for women, deprived of modern medical care.

It is worth noting that in the first phase of this program, a total of 8,727 patients in seven districts of the country – Bogra, Jamalpur, Bhola, Lalmonirhat, Khulna, Satkhira and Cox’s Bazar – received medical services through specialist doctors.

Each medical camp had a system to provide diagnostic reports within 5 to 20 minutes, similar to modern hospitals, which created a new and positive experience for the rural people.

Notable successes of the campaign include free cataract surgery for 219 patients, the estimated market value of which is around 32 lakh 45 thousand taka. In addition, ECG, Diagnostic services worth about 53 lakh 15 thousand taka, including CBC and kidney tests, and medicines worth about 13 lakh taka have been distributed free of cost.

In total, about 1 crore 41 lakh 60 thousand 100 taka have been provided by Ansar and Village Defence Force in the first phase.

Each camp had to serve two to three times more patients than the target set, which clearly reflects the acute need for humanitarian healthcare in marginalized areas.

Bangladesh Ansar and Village Defence Force is not limited to providing security only; rather, it is playing a role as a responsible state partner in improving the quality of life of marginalized people and ensuring human security. If such public welfare programs are expanded in the future, focusing on transparency, accountability and human values, it is expected to further strengthen the country’s social security system and take the relationship between the state forces and the people to new heights.