Govt working to bridge healthcare gaps, empower youth as health entrepreneurs: Zubaida
Vice-President of the Ziaur Rahman Foundation, Dr Zubaida Rahman, on Tuesday said the government is working to identify gaps in the country's healthcare system and take the necessary steps to address them, while placing greater emphasis on youth participation in improving health services.
"The government is committed to ensuring quality healthcare for every citizen, and greater involvement of young people is being emphasised to achieve this goal," she said while addressing a workshop titled The Path to Becoming a Health Entrepreneur in Bangladesh as chief guest at a hotel in Gulshan, Dhaka.
Highlighting the role of the younger generation, she said young people should be developed as health entrepreneurs to help tackle both existing and emerging challenges in Bangladesh's healthcare sector.
"We can provide young people with training and mentorship opportunities so they can transform their innovative ideas into reality. For this, they need to be connected with the health system, researchers, social and private-sector innovators, investors and government institutions," she said.
She also underscored the role of universities in fostering innovation, saying educational institutions should create an environment where students learn through practical work and teachers collaborate across disciplines.
"We must prepare the new generation to face future challenges and encourage them to take innovative initiatives," she added.
Health entrepreneurship key to solving sector challenges
Zubaida said health entrepreneurship is not merely about launching businesses or commercialising healthcare services, but about using creativity, evidence and discipline to solve real-life health problems by identifying gaps and developing practical solutions.
Referring to Bangladesh's changing healthcare landscape, she said the country is facing growing challenges, including the rising burden of non-communicable diseases, an ageing population, climate change-related health risks and rapid urbanisation.
"These challenges cannot be addressed by any single institution or sector alone. They require new thinking and stronger partnerships," she said.
Govt prioritising affordable healthcare for all
Highlighting the financial burden of healthcare, Zubaida said illness has become one of the leading causes of poverty in Bangladesh, with people currently paying around 72 percent of healthcare costs out of their own pockets.
"We believe healthcare is not a privilege; it is a fundamental right. However, years of neglect and lack of accountability in the health sector have increased the burden on ordinary people. We are now working to ensure healthcare for all, and making healthcare services accessible to every household is one of our key priorities," she said.
Finance Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury, Health and Family Welfare Minister Sardar Md Sakhawat Husain, and the Prime Minister's Special Assistant for Health Affairs, Dr SM Ziauddin Haider, also addressed the programme.