Vice President of Ziaur Rahman Foundation and eminent physician Dr Zubaida Rahman on Tuesday urged the country’s youth to develop practical, evidence-based solutions to address the country's growing health challenges. .
The government wants to utilise the ideas and innovative thinking of the younger generation to improve healthcare services, she said while addressing a workshop titled “Pathways to Becoming Health Entrepreneurs in Bangladesh” as the chief guest at a hotel in the capital.
"For this, plans are being taken to provide training to young people. Alongside creating health entrepreneurs at the local level, arrangements will also be made to develop skilled healthcare workers. This will help improve the quality and accessibility of healthcare services at the grassroots level," she said.
Dr Zubaida said becoming a health entrepreneur does not mean starting a company or commercialising healthcare. "It means using creativity, evidence and discipline to solve real health problems. It also means identifying gaps and creating practical solutions," she said.
She said Bangladesh has a unique opportunity in this regard as the country has a large young population whose energy, digital skills, creativity and sense of social responsibility are among the nation's greatest assets.
"We can provide young people with training and mentorship opportunities so that they can transform their ideas into reality. For this, they need to be connected with healthcare systems, researchers, social and private sector innovators, investors and government institutions," she said.
She said universities can play an important role by creating an environment where students learn through practical experiences and teachers work collaboratively across different disciplines.
"Therefore, the new generation needs to be prepared to face potential challenges and take innovative initiatives," she added.
Dr Zubaida said the government is working to identify and address existing gaps in the healthcare sector, considering access to healthcare as a fundamental right of people.
She said non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are increasing in Bangladesh, while several challenges remain in the healthcare sector particularly in women and child healthcare.
Effective measures are being taken by identifying these gaps, she added.
Highlighting the link between illness and poverty, Dr Zubaida said healthcare is not a privilege but a fundamental right.
"However, due to years of neglect and lack of accountability in the healthcare sector, people in Bangladesh have to bear around 72 percent of healthcare expenses from their own pockets. As a result, illness has become one of the major causes of poverty," she said.
She said the government is now working to ensure healthcare for all, with one of its key goals being to take healthcare services to every household.
Dr Zubaida said Bangladeshis have faced poverty, disasters, diseases, displacement and oppression for various reasons but have always shown courage in overcoming challenges.
"The current government is working with a focus on disease prevention and health awareness. To achieve this goal, trained healthcare workers are being deployed at villages and households to identify diseases such as diarrhoea, hypertension, diabetes, malnutrition and other health problems at an early stage," she said.
She further said Bangladesh is currently facing new health challenges, including rising non-communicable diseases, an ageing population, climate change-related risks and changing lifestyles due to urbanisation.
"These challenges cannot be addressed by any single institution or sector alone. They require new thinking and new partnerships," she said.
Finance Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury, Health and Family Welfare Minister Sardar Md Sakhawat Husain and Health Affairs Special Assistant to Prime Minister Dr SM Ziauddin Hyder, among others, attended the programme.