In memory of Dr. Zafrullah Chowdhury - Muhammad Yunus

In memory of Dr. Zafrullah Chowdhury

Dr. Zafrullah gave a new identity for a New Bangladesh

Muhammad Yunus

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Dr Zafrullah left us. We will no longer see his bold?statements on political issues in the newspapers. We will no longer see the news of his illness at regular intervals. From now on he will remain as a?lasting memory for the people of Bangladesh and his admirers abroad.

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Dr. Zafrullah will be remembered for different aspects of his work?by different people, since there are many dimensions to the work for which he will be remembered.?Most of all Dr. Zafrullah will be revered for giving?a new identity for a newly-born Bangladesh, which will shine like an eternal star for me. He gave?Bangladesh the identity as a nation which does not yield to?any obstacles?along?its path,?a Bangladesh which is not tied down to the old ways of thinking and doing, a Bangladesh which has the determination to create a new path as it moves forward, a Bangladesh whose self-confidence level reaches to the height of the stars.

Young Zafrullah rushed off to the battlefield in the?liberation war on his own alone.?He did not wait for an order, a call, or to ponder on?anything about who is making decisions, what are the pros and cons of the war, who sees what in it, who is joining the war, who is not, what will be the ultimate outcome of the war. Nothing.?He decided his own role and jumped into it. Need a field hospital on the battlefield? So be it, it?will be done. Nothing will be held up for intricate discussions. There was no way Zafrullah could be delayed or restrained.?He started his journey by using what he had, his professional skill, but did not limit himself to those skills at all.

After returning from the battlefield he created a healthcare initiative-- Gonoshasthya Kendra.?But he made sure everyone in the Centre goes out every morning?to cultivate the fields to grow crops and vegetables. Women were given a new role, the role of being the security force of the Centre. Men were not hired for this job. Women were trained to become the drivers of all vehicles. Zafrullah was shuttling between Dhaka-Savar as much during day time as in early hours of night, in addition to?rushing around the country, with his female driver. Was he criticized for that? Of course he was. But Zafrullah never paid attention to any criticism.

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During the liberation war, news about him interested me a lot. I used to collect the information and pass it around. He was our symbol of hope. I returned to the country in 1972. At the time of leaving the US , the famous architect Dr. F. R. Khan, the founder and president of the Bangladesh Defense League, which was created to mobilise political support?and contribute to war efforts of the liberation war of Bangladesh,?gave me an unpaid assignment. I was very excited. I was made the Bangladesh Representative of his newly created Bangladesh Foundation. Arriving in Dhaka, the first thing I did?was to meet Dr. Zafrullah?to explore giving financial support to one of his projects. I went to Savar to meet him. Here it was, a public healthcare?center housed in a few tents standing randomly?in an empty field. We had great animated discussion. I was impressed by his healthcare dreams. His ways of doing things seemed very unorthodox. His plans had no bounds. This first visit made me his life-long friend.?

One activity?that brought us the closest was the involvement with the National?Drug Policy. He insisted that I should be part of the national committee for designing the policy. He got his way. It was a great learning process for me. It was an impossible task. Zafrullah specialized in?impossible aspirations.

The policy made was very clear and straightforward.?All medicines must be produced within the country. Only government approved medicines will be allowed to be produced and sold at government approved prices. This put a newly born poor country in a sharp conflict with foreign giant pharmaceutical companies and their local partners. Dr. Zafrullah would not budge from his position. He got the whole government to back him up. I was amazed by his determination and use of facts and arguments. This was a true war confrontation between David and Goliath. But David won. Because of the adoption of the policy?Bangladesh has become a significant force in the global pharmaceutical industry, and healthcare in Bangladesh is now free to be designed independently.

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His compassion towards poor women has been manifested through all his activities. When calamity befell on the women of Grameen Bank, he came forward and fought single-handedly to ensure their safety and security.

Being a dialysis patient himself, he immediately found out how inadequate it is for all, and how unavailable it is to the low income patients. He had to undergo dialysis treatment three times a week. He could not believe how limited was the availability of the facilities for the treatment,?even if you had all the money in the world! Then imagine if you are a person of average income in the country.?He took the initiative to establish a dialysis center to give the poorest people access to dialysis at an affordable cost. It was a tough job, and he was doing it when he was not physically fit. But he ignored his health issues, and insisted on getting it done.

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Everything he did, from producing a new generation of physicians and health technicians,?to producing and marketing medicines,?to providing patient care, is based on his own concepts of what health care should mean. Every day of his life, he had to struggle against the tide - but he never gave up.?

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He took interesting initiatives within his organization, besides hiring women as security guards and drivers, based on his personal beliefs and commitments. For example, he made it known with every job announcement that no smoker would be considered fit to apply for employment in his organization. To save trees he set up a factory to make his own fiber glass furniture. Then he added another feature to it. All employees of the factory, from the top to the bottom, must be women. Zafrullah never made things easy for himself!

Zafrullah's list of accomplishments is a very long one. But, what always impressed me is not the length of the list, it is the creativity behind each one,?the way he conceptualized and executed each one -- each was?special.

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Dr. Zafrullah was a classic artist who set his own rules, broke well established old rules, and created rules that were 'shocking’ to the conventional professionals.?

The nation will be eternally thankful to Zafrullah for being who he was.