Govt working to ensure free primary healthcare for all: Zahid

Women and Children Affairs and Social Welfare Minister Prof. Dr. AZM Zahid Hossain today said the government is working to ensure free primary healthcare services for all citizens.

"The government is taking pragmatic steps to ensure that general patients can receive quality and modern medical treatment at divisional and regional levels without having to travel to the capital," he said.

The minister made the remarks while addressing the 32nd National Conference and 2nd Outreach Programme of the Bangladesh Society of Radiology and Imaging as the chief guest at Shahid Abu Sayed International Convention Centre in the capital.

Dr Zahid said Prime Minister Tarique Rahman had allocated the highest-ever budget for the health sector in the current fiscal year.

"We must ensure proper utilisation of this budget for the overall development of the country's healthcare system," he said, adding that despite resource constraints, a significant transformation in healthcare could be achieved through sincerity, efficiency and effective use of available resources.

Assuring the government's support through necessary funding and policy directives to improve healthcare quality, the minister said bringing qualitative changes to the medical sector was a collective responsibility of all stakeholders.

He urged medical professionals to work together to ensure that patients could receive comprehensive treatment for complex diseases within the country, without having to seek medical care abroad.

He also called for proper career planning to prepare young doctors for future leadership roles in the medical sector.

Meanwhile, speakers at the conference said liver cirrhosis ranked seventh among the top 10 causes of death in Bangladesh.

Around seven million people in the country are infected with Hepatitis B, while more than 45 million adults suffer from fatty liver disease, they said.

They warned that 40 to 60 percent of patients die within a year when the condition becomes critical, stressing the importance of early diagnosis and public awareness.

The speakers also called for avoiding unnecessary CT scans and surgeries and urged the introduction of radiation risk allowance for healthcare professionals in Bangladesh, similar to that in other countries.

The conference was chaired by Brigadier General (retd) Dr Sayed Awsaf Ali, while Bangladesh Society of Radiology and Imaging General Secretary Professor Dr Md Nazrul Islam delivered the welcome address.

Bangladesh Medical University (BMU) Vice-Chancellor Professor Dr F M Siddiqui attended the event as the special guest.

Delegates, expert physicians and researchers from several countries, including India, Pakistan, the Netherlands, South Korea and the United States, took part in the conference.