Health budget doubled to ensure better services: Sakhawat
Health and Family Welfare Minister Sardar Md Sakhawat Hossain on Sunday said the government doubled the allocation for the health sector in the national budget to improve healthcare services, strengthen disease diagnosis and expand access to quality treatment, particularly in rural areas.
Speaking as the chief guest at the inauguration of a two-day international conference titled “Appropriate Technology for Healthcare in Low and Middle Income Countries” at the University of Dhaka Senate Building, the minister said technology-driven healthcare would be key to bridging longstanding gaps in the country's diagnostic system.
"Patients in remote areas are still being deprived of proper healthcare services. The government is committed to improving this situation quickly. To achieve this goal, the health sector allocation has been doubled in the national budget," he said.
Sakhawat said the government was implementing a range of initiatives to strengthen diagnostic capacity and deliver quality healthcare to rural and marginalised communities through greater use of medical technology. He also praised the University of Dhaka's telemedicine programme, which incorporates innovations such as online 12-lead ECG systems and electronic stethoscopes, saying these could significantly improve healthcare delivery if integrated into the government's rural healthcare programme.
He reiterated that modernising the country's diagnostic system through advanced technology remained one of the government's top priorities.
Minister urges vigilance as dengue cases continue to rise
Expressing concern over the ongoing dengue outbreak, Sakhawat said several hospitals were under severe pressure, with some forced to accommodate 30 to 40 dengue patients in a single room.
He urged doctors and nurses engaged in tackling dengue and measles outbreaks to continue performing their duties with patience and professionalism.
The minister also said hospitals had been instructed not to discharge dengue patients until they had fully recovered.
During the inaugural session, conference chairman Professor Khondkar Siddique-e-Rabbani highlighted Bangladesh's progress in healthcare technology innovation since 1978, while vice-chairman Professor Toufiq Hasan presented biomedical technologies developed at Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) and discussed entrepreneurship in the sector.
Technical sessions on the opening day covered topics including postpartum haemorrhage prevention, oral rehydration programmes, children's neurological development, dry eye treatment, diabetic foot ulcer prevention, artificial intelligence, electrical bio-impedance and affordable healthcare technologies.
Participants also proposed establishing two international initiatives—the Global Institute of Appropriate Technology for Mankind and the Global Alliance for Equalising Access to Healthcare Technology—to help reduce disparities in access to medical technologies across developing countries.
The second day of the conference will focus on cancer treatment, palliative care, prevention of hospital-acquired infections, low-cost medical technologies and the application of artificial intelligence in healthcare.
The conference has been jointly organised by the Department of Biomedical Physics and Technology at the University of Dhaka, the Department of Biomedical Engineering at BUET, the Department of Clinical Oncology at Bangladesh Medical University, BiBeat Limited and the Relevant Science and Technology Society.