Ansar-VDP marks two years of reform, plans AI-driven blood bank

Bangladesh Ansar and Village Defence Party (Ansar-VDP) has completed two years of reforms aimed at making the force more modern, transparent and accountable, its director general Major General Abdul Motaleb Sazzad Mahmud said at a meeting in Gazipur on Thursday.

He said the reforms, launched following the July 2024 uprising, had brought the force’s nearly 60 million members under a unified digital database for the first time.

The force also plans to integrate an artificial intelligence-powered system into its information technology infrastructure, including a blood bank service based on data on volunteer blood donors, which officials said could become the country’s largest such service.

More than 450,000 new members have been trained ahead of the next parliamentary election, with the training also focusing on emergency and wartime response, the DG said.

He said a long-standing “rest system” affecting job continuity was being phased out, while recruitment procedures had been tightened to prevent bribery and brokering.

Efforts were also under way to ensure the timely payment of salaries and retirement benefits, he said.

Ansar-VDP is a state auxiliary force that assists the police and military. Under a new programme titled “Sanjibani”, grassroots VDP volunteers will also have an expanded role in community welfare activities.