United News of Bangladesh

Prime Minister Tarique Rahman on Thursday said his government is transforming Bangladesh’s health system with a focus on prevention, placing primary healthcare at the foundation of its reform agenda and giving priority to women and children. “My government is transforming our health system, guided by a simple principle: ‘Prevention is better than cure.’ We want to build a healthy Bangladesh, where healthcare begins in the home and community,” he said. The Prime Minister made the remarks while opening a high-level side event titled “From Commitment to Action: Integrating Midwifery into Primary Health Care to End Preventable Maternal and Newborn Deaths” at the UN Headquarters in New York. Bangladesh co-hosted the event with Sweden in partnership with UNFPA on the margins of the 81st session of the UN General Assembly. Tarique Rahman said political commitment becomes meaningful when translated into investment, institutions, skilled people and better lives. He said his government intends to recruit 100,000 additional health workers, 80 percent of whom will be women. “They will connect families with the health system, identify risks early, and support timely care,” he said. Highlighting the role of midwives, the Prime Minister said a professional midwife is much more than a skilled birth attendant and could become a woman’s trusted health professional from preconception through the postnatal period. “My government has taken the decision to recruit 25,000 professional midwives across Bangladesh, and that process has begun,” he said. “We want them to become an integral part of multidisciplinary Primary Health Care teams,” Tarique Rahman added. The midwives will provide essential reproductive care, support antenatal care, promote safe and respectful childbirth, identify complications early, facilitate referrals and care for mothers and newborns, including breastfeeding, immunisation and healthy childhood development, he said. The Prime Minister said Bangladesh has built an important foundation for professional midwifery, including professional midwifery education, stronger regulation, and the deployment of midwives across district, sub-district, and union-level facilities. “We now have more than 11,000 licensed midwives, with the objective of reaching 25,000 by 2030,” he said. Tarique Rahman said Bangladesh’s partnership with Sweden and UNFPA had made an important contribution to the sector. With UNFPA’s cooperation, Bangladesh has expanded midwifery-led care across 22 districts, where skilled midwives supported more than 154,000 births and managed critical maternal cases, he said. “These are not merely statistics. They represent mothers returning home safely, and newborns beginning life with hope,” the Prime Minister said. He also outlined the government’s plan to build an integrated digital health ecosystem. “Our vision is that every citizen will have a Health Card linked with a digital health record and electronic referral system,” Tarique Rahman said. He said the system will allow a woman in rural Bangladesh to have her care registered close to home, her visits tracked and her risk factors recorded. “If referred to a higher-level hospital, the necessary information should travel with her,” the Prime Minister said. He said the government’s vision for women’s health extended beyond pregnancy and childbirth. “We must address women’s health across the life course, including adolescent health, reproductive health and family planning, and prevention and early detection of cervical and breast cancers,” Tarique Rahman said. He said midwifery must be part of a broader platform for women’s health within primary healthcare, while the next phase should be driven by national ownership and sustainable domestic investment. “As we open today’s discussion, I leave you with one ambition: Every woman should have access to a skilled professional midwife as part of her Primary Health Care team, close to where she lives,” the Prime Minister said. “For Bangladesh, this means deploying midwives nationwide, strengthening community health services and referral pathways, and connecting citizens through a modern digital health system,” he said. “Together, these steps will help us build a healthy, thriving Bangladesh. And this is how we move from commitment to action,” Tarique Rahman added. Prime Minister wife Dr Zubaida Rahman also spoke at the programme.

Prime Minister Tarique Rahman on Tuesday held separate meetings with Bhutanese Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay and Maldives Vice President Uz Hussain Mohamed Latheef on the sidelines of the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly. The talks took place at the UN Headquarters in New York as the Prime Minister attended the high-level General Debate of the 81st UNGA, according to a release issued by the Prime Minister’s Press Wing.  

Prime Minister Tarique Rahman is set to have a packed schedule during his five-day stay in New York, combining his maiden address to the UN General Assembly with bilateral meetings, high-level UN events and engagements aimed at advancing Bangladesh’s diplomatic and economic priorities. The Prime Minister is scheduled to arrive at John F Kennedy International Airport around 5:55pm local time on Monday and stay at the Hyatt Grand Central New York. A major focus of the visit will be his first address to the United Nations General Assembly as prime minister. He is scheduled to deliver Bangladesh’s statement at the General Debate of the 81st UNGA on Thursday afternoon. His speaking slot is currently expected at 5:30pm local time, although the timing may change depending on the UN programme. The Prime Minister is expected to deliver his speech in Bangla, outlining Bangladesh’s domestic priorities and its position on major regional and global challenges. Foreign Secretary Asad Alam Siam, at a curtain-raiser briefing ahead of the visit on Sunday, said the address will cover Bangladesh’s renewed democratic journey, the rule of law and accountability, global peace and security, climate change, sustainable development and economic cooperation. Youth and women’s empowerment, education and health, the Rohingya crisis, equitable and inclusive use of modern technology and reform of the multilateral system will also feature in the address. The speech will be Tarique Rahman’s first opportunity as prime minister to present his government’s priorities and vision before the UN General Assembly. Rohingya issue in focus The protracted Rohingya crisis will feature prominently in the Prime Minister’s UN engagements as Bangladesh seeks to bring greater international attention back to the issue and mobilise stronger support for its resolution. On September 23, Tarique Rahman will join a high-level event on the Rohingya crisis, where Bangladesh is expected to seek stronger international cooperation for the earliest possible repatriation of forcibly displaced Rohingyas to Myanmar. The foreign secretary described the Rohingya crisis as an “ongoing problem”, saying Bangladesh will use the gathering of world leaders to highlight its scale, the challenges it poses and the international assistance and cooperation required to address it. Bangladesh maintains that the safe, voluntary, dignified and sustainable return of the Rohingyas to Myanmar is the lasting solution to the crisis. Climate action and sea-level rise Climate change will be another major focus of the Prime Minister’s engagements. On September 23, he is scheduled to participate in a high-level meeting on “Climate Action and the Just Transition”, convened at the initiative of the UN Secretary-General. The following day, Tarique Rahman will take part in a high-level meeting on the threats posed by sea-level rise, where he is scheduled to deliver the opening remarks. At the climate events, Bangladesh is expected to highlight the concerns of climate-vulnerable countries, including the need for climate finance, adaptation support, technology transfer and measures to address loss and damage. The Prime Minister will also participate in a high-level meeting on global inequality and attend a Bangladesh-hosted side event on maternal and newborn health and midwifery. Bilateral meetings Tarique Rahman’s formal engagements will begin on Tuesday with a welcome breakfast reception hosted by UN Secretary-General António Guterres for heads of delegation. He will then join the opening proceedings of the 81st UN General Assembly at the UN Headquarters. During the day, the Prime Minister is scheduled to hold bilateral meetings with Maldives Vice-President Uz Hussain Mohamed Latheef and Bhutanese Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay. He will also meet World Bank Group President Ajay Banga and is expected to hold talks with European Council President António Costa. Separate meetings are scheduled with senior UN officials, including UN High Commissioner for Refugees Barham Salih and UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk. On Tuesday evening, Tarique Rahman will attend a reception hosted by US President Donald Trump for heads of delegation and their spouses at the Lotte New York Palace Hotel. On September 23 morning, he will attend a breakfast meeting with philanthropic and humanitarian organisations at the Bangladesh Permanent Mission in New York before joining his UN engagements. The Prime Minister is also scheduled to meet Boeing Global President Dr Brendan Nelson later in the day. On September 24, alongside his UNGA address and climate engagements, Tarique Rahman is scheduled to meet UN Secretary-General António Guterres and Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul. He will attend a dinner hosted in his honour by Bangladesh’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations later in the evening. Other bilateral meetings planned during the visit include talks with the Crown Prince of Kuwait and the prime ministers of Croatia, Pakistan and Haiti. According to the foreign secretary, the discussions are expected to cover bilateral political and economic relations, trade and investment, development cooperation, the Rohingya issue and other matters of mutual interest. The Prime Minister is also expected to meet the UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy on Myanmar and other senior representatives of international organisations. Economic diplomacy Economic diplomacy will form another important part of the New York visit, with a series of engagements involving international businesses and investors. On September 25 morning, Tarique Rahman is scheduled to attend a breakfast meeting with Wall Street representatives hosted by JP Morgan at its headquarters in Manhattan. The discussions are expected to focus on Bangladesh’s investment opportunities, manufacturing, infrastructure, technology, human-resource development and employment opportunities for young people. The Prime Minister is also expected to engage with representatives of Meta and other international businesses during his stay. Later in the day, he is scheduled to meet Kuwait’s Crown Prince Sheikh Sabah Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah and attend a lunch meeting with Prince Zeid al Hussein, President of the International Peace Institute. Tarique Rahman will also receive a courtesy call from Dr Kali Pradip Chaudhuri and meet BNP leaders based in the United States before wrapping up his New York visit. Foreign Secretary Siam said UN engagements will receive priority during the visit, while the schedule of bilateral meetings and other programmes will remain an “evolving process”. The Prime Minister is scheduled to leave New York for Dhaka around 11:00pm on September 25 aboard Emirates flight EK202.