United News of Bangladesh

Health and Family Welfare Minister Sardar Md. Sakhawat Husain on Tuesday said an initiative has been taken to expand dialysis services in government hospitals across the country, with a plan to introduce dialysis services in 59 hospitals by 2027. He said this while replying to a written question placed in Parliament by treasury bench member S.M. Jahangir Hossain elected from Dhaka-18 constituency. The minister said a project titled “Upgradation of existing kidney dialysis centres to 50-bed capacity in medical college hospitals and establishment of 10-bed kidney dialysis centres in district Sadar hospitals (1st revised)” is currently under implementation under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. Under the project, infrastructure development, supply and procurement of medical equipment are currently underway in 15 medical college hospitals and 44 district Sadar hospitals across the country. He said that once the project is completed by December 2027, kidney treatment would be more accessible and affordable to the patients at divisional and district level.

Health and Family Welfare Minister Md Sardar Sakhawat Husain on Monday told Parliament that the recent surge in measles cases in Bangladesh stems from vaccination gaps and mismanagement by previous governments, including the immediate past interim administration. Responding to a notice raised by National Citizen Party (NCP) MP Akhter Hossen, he said the country’s last special measles-rubella vaccination campaign was conducted in December 2020 and has not been repeated in over five and a half years, although such campaigns are scheduled every four years. “As a result, many children, including newborns, have remained outside the vaccination coverage and are now infected by measles,” the minister said. He also clarified an earlier statement made to journalists on March 29, where he had said measles vaccination had not been conducted for the past eight years, which drew concern among field-level health workers. In his notice, Akhter Hossen said suspected measles-related deaths have exceeded 115 in the past three weeks, with 20 confirmed ones. He also alleged that thousands of children have been infected by the disease and highlighted serious gaps in healthcare facilities, including a lack of isolation wards, ICUs, and NICUs at district and upazila level hospitals, particularly in the Rajshahi region. The NCP lawmaker further noted that although measles vaccination in Bangladesh typically begins at nine months of age, children as young as six months are now being infected, sparking concerns over surveillance and diagnosis. In response, the minister said emergency vaccination drives have already begun in 30 high-risk upazilas across 18 districts from April 5 under the directive of Prime Minister Tarique Rahman. The campaign targets children aged 6 to 59 months, with a goal of vaccinating 1.2 million children in the first phase. “On the first day, 73,000 children were vaccinated against a target of 76,000 in 30 upazilas, achieving a 96% coverage,” Sakhawat said. The programme will be expanded to Dhaka, Mymensingh and Barishal city corporations from April 12, and nationwide rollout is scheduled from May 3. Simultaneously, vitamin A capsules are also being administered. Addressing concerns about hospital readiness, the minister said isolation wards have been set up in government hospitals nationwide. In Rajshahi, an additional 250 isolation beds are being prepared, he said, adding that ICU and ventilation facilities are being strengthened, and a low-cost oxygen delivery system developed by icddr,b is being deployed. Sakhawat also said the government is procuring vaccines on an emergency basis and that the World Bank has assured support, including loans and grants, to help combat the outbreak. In a supplementary question, Akhter Hossen alleged persistent field-level mismanagement, saying despite budget allocations, patients are not receiving adequate isolation or ICU support. He also noted that around 25% of the health sector budget remains unspent, including Tk 11,000 crore in the 2024-25 fiscal year. In reply, the minister said Tk 604 crore in unspent funds from the COVID-19 period is being used to procure additional measles vaccines through UNICEF. He added that all leave for health workers has been cancelled to strengthen field-level supervision, and coordination with development partners, including the World Bank and UNICEF, has been intensified.

The government will launch an emergency measles vaccination campaign for children aged between six months and 10 years from Sunday, Health and Family Welfare Minister Sardar Md. Sakhawat Hossain said on Wednesday. The minister shared the information with reporters after a meeting at the Secretariat on Wednesday. He said as an emergency measure, around 21.9 million doses of measles vaccines will be procured from Gavi, the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation. Besides, the government has cancelled all leave for field-level health workers from Thursday to ensure smooth implementation of the emergency measles vaccination campaign, said the minister. All vaccinators will work under the supervision of local health officials and remain actively engaged in field operations, he added. The minister said vaccines and syringes will be distributed to all upazilas, with priority given to the most affected areas, by Wednesday and Thursday. “Within the next two days, we will send vaccines and syringes to rural areas, he added. Highlighting government efforts to deal the measles outbreak, the minister said the authorities have responded swiftly to the situation despite its severity. “Although there have been some casualties, we have managed the situation effectively by quickly arranging facilities,” he said. Meanwhile, adequate ward management has been ensured in different hospitals, while ventilators have been rapidly collected from the private sector to support critical patients so that children do not die due to lack of oxygen. The minister warned that measles-related pneumonia significantly increases the risk of death, as it leads to mucus buildup in the lungs, reducing oxygen supply and pushing patients toward critical conditions. He also said the Health Ministry and icddr,b have jointly started working to prevent child deaths caused by measles and associated pneumonia. icddr,b proposed the use of an innovative and cost-effective ‘bubble CPAP’ technology to help reduce respiratory complications among children, he said. Measles cases are rising in the country with hospitals reporting increased admissions and child deaths. A number of children died from measles in different parts of the country including Dhaka and Rajshahi districts.

Bangladesh's Health and Family Welfare Minister Zahid Maleque on Sunday (January 08, 2023) said there are no unauthorised clinics operating in the capital. The minister made the comment while responding to a tabled question of AL MP Habib Hasan. He said that if an unauthorised private clinic is found, necessary measures are taken as per the rules, including suspending the operation of the clinic by operating a mobile court with the help of law enforcement agencies. Also Read: Review of mass media employees bill gets another 60-day extension In response to the question from ruling Awami Leaague MP M. Abdul Latif, the health minister said that the process of starting the geriatric department for the treatment of the elderly in the medical college hospitals of the divisional cities across the country has started. Activities will start soon to provide modern medical care to patients aged 65 years and above at this department, he said. In response to AL MP Habib Hasan's question, the health minister said that the number of approved private hospitals and clinics in Dhaka city is 484. Read More: Policies must to stop misuse, overuse of antibiotics: Health Minister In reply to another question from AL MP Anwarul Abedin Khan, Zahid Maleque said that the government has a plan to increase the number of beds in all upazila health complexes in the country. He said that upgradation of upazila hospital from 31 to 50 beds is ongoing. Already five upazila health complexes have been upgraded to 100 beds. The government plans to upgrade all the 50-bed upazila hospitals to 100 beds as per requirement in phases, he said. Read More: “Won’t allow anyone to do business in the name of healthcare.” In response to the question of Didarul Alam, the minister said that the government has taken up the project of establishing one full-fledged cancer hospital at each divisional city where it will be possible to ensure the diagnosis and treatment of cancer patients of all ages including children.

Nationally, more than 90 percent adolescents are using mobile phones in Bangladesh, according to a survey.

In a bid to ensure fully smoking-free environment, two anti-tobacco advocacy organisations –-PROGGA (Knowledge for Progress) and Anti-Tobacco Media Alliance (ATMA)— on Monday proposed that the ban on smoking be extended to all public places, workplaces and public transport, including abolishment of ‘designated smoking zones’ provided in public places and work places.

Health and Family Welfare Minister Zahid Maleque on Sunday said the Coronavirus vaccine will reach the country in the middle of February and the government is prepared for vaccine distribution among people.

Health and Family Welfare Minister Zahid Maleque on Saturday said that an agreement to get supplies of the Covid-19 vaccine once it is approved would hopefully be reached in the next 'two to four days'.

Health and Family Welfare Minister Zahid Maleque has said Bangladesh is now largely safe from the Covid-19 pandemic, though many people had earlier speculated that tens of thousands of people would die from Coronavirus in the country.

The government will build a 15-storey cancer hospital in each of the eight divisions within the next two years, Health and Family Welfare Minister Zahid Maleque said Thursday.