
DHAKA -- While Bangladesh is depending on global lenders for aid to weather coronavirus-induced health and economic crises, its medical administration remains unusually generous to suppliers of medical equipment and services.
The Directorate General of Health Services, the country's national health agency, quotes prices paid for procurement of medical personnel safety goggles, for example, at $59 a pair, almost five times the equipment's market rate. The same goes for medical gowns, software, website development and audiovisual clips under an emergency coronavirus project.