Mayor Shahadat seeks France’s cooperation in developing nursing sector

CCC Mayor Dr. Shahadat Hossain has called for strengthening cooperation with France in developing urban healthcare. He said that there is no alternative to creating skilled, trained and international standard nurses to ensure modern medical services. For this purpose, a plan has been taken to introduce a four-year bachelor’s degree at the Nursing Institute run by the Chittagong City Corporation.
The mayor said these things during a courtesy call on French Ambassador to Bangladesh Jean-Marc Serre-Charle, who is posted at the Mayor’s Office at the Chittagong City Corporation Office at Tiger Pass on Monday (June 29) afternoon.
When asked about the plan to ensure women’s empowerment in Chittagong and possible areas of cooperation, the French ambassador said that one of his main goals is to develop Chittagong as a healthy, clean and livable ‘healthy city’. To implement this goal, the School Health Card Program has been launched to protect the health of schoolchildren, a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) has been launched for newborns, and various programs have been implemented to improve maternal and child health.
The Mayor said that there is no alternative to skilled and trained nurses to build a modern and quality health system. To enhance the quality of medical services, it is very important to ensure professional skills of nurses, international standard training, modern curriculum and technology-based education.
Currently, a diploma degree is being offered from the Chittagong City Corporation Nursing Institute. However, we have planned to introduce a four-year bachelor’s degree. If skilled nurses can be produced, not only will the health system of Chittagong improve, but also huge employment opportunities will be created in the country and abroad. In this regard, French investment, technical assistance, experience and knowledge exchange can play a very important role.
He said that the City Corporation wants to work in joint ventures with international partners to develop Chittagong as a modern health center in South Asia. During the meeting, the French Ambassador discussed Chittagong’s waste management, education system, trade and investment environment, waterlogging reduction, development of the tourism industry and the possibility of establishing sister city relations between Chittagong and a French city. Both sides expressed interest in expanding long-term cooperation in sustainable urban development, eco-friendly infrastructure, health and education sectors.
During the meeting, Cynthia Mela, Country Director of the French Development Agency AFD, highlighted the progress of the ongoing sanitation project of Chittagong WASA and said that through this project, a modern sewage system will be established in the city, the wastewater treatment capacity will increase, pollution of the Karnaphuli River and canals will be reduced and public health will be ensured.
She said that if the project is implemented, a sustainable sanitation system will be developed for the city residents and environmental risks will be significantly reduced. She sought the active cooperation of the Chittagong City Corporation for the successful implementation of the project, including road excavation and rehabilitation, infrastructural coordination between various agencies, raising citizen awareness and necessary administrative support. Among others present at the event were CCC Acting CEO and Secretary Md. Ashraful Amin, Chief Cleaning Officer Captain Ikhtiar Uddin Ahmed Chowdhury, Chief Revenue Officer Sarwar Kamal, Chief Education Officer Dr. Kissinger Chakma, Chief Engineer Anisur Rahman and National Brokers Limited Managing Director Orman Rafi Nizam.