Riyadh: Bangladesh has proposed the establishment of an online platform to address complaints from Bangladeshi migrant workers encountering harassment at medical test centers accredited by Saudi authorities. This proposal was put forward during a recent meeting between Dr. Neyamat Ullah Bhuiyan, Senior Secretary of the Ministry of Expatriates Welfare and Overseas Employment, and Suleiman bin Saleh AlDakhil, Director General of the Gulf Health Council. According to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, the meeting took place at the Gulf Health Council's headquarters during Dr. Neyamat Ullah's official visit to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. During the meeting, Dr. Neyamat highlighted issues such as mismanagement by GHC-affiliated medical centers in Bangladesh, noncompliance with GHC guidelines, fraudulent medical report generation, extra charges, and delays in uploading medical results to the MoFA KSA portal. The challenges faced by workers traveling from remote villages to city-centric test centers were also discussed. To ad dress these issues, Bangladesh suggested that the GHC should not grant accreditation to medical test centers unless they are enlisted under Bangladesh's Ministry of Expatriates Welfare and Overseas Employment (MoEW and OE). This measure aims to curb fraud, harassment, and exploitation of expatriate workers. The proposal also included tripartite coordination involving the Ministry of Health, MoEW and OE, and GHC, as well as periodic online meetings to enhance oversight. Bangladesh emphasized the importance of continuous monitoring by 110 technical training centers (TTCs) and other MoEW and OE field offices. Both parties agreed to improve cooperation and assign focal points from the Ministry of Health, MoEW and OE, and GHC for better communication. They also planned to launch an awareness campaign through the 110 TTCs to protect expatriate workers from exploitation. The MoEW and OE will send a letter to the GHC to clarify its oversight mandate on medical tests and justify the necessity for ministry enlistment to ensure better compliance with GHC guidelines.
