Government taking steps so no one has to come to the capital for treatment, says Minister Zahid Hossain

Women and Children Affairs and Social Welfare Minister Professor Dr A Z M Zahid Hossain has said the government is working to ensure free primary healthcare for all. The government is taking practical steps so that ordinary patients can receive quality, modern treatment at divisional and regional levels and nobody has to come to the capital for treatment, he said.

He made the remarks on Friday (November 6) as chief guest at the 32nd national conference of the Bangladesh Society of Radiology and Imaging and its second outreach programme, held at the Shaheed Abu Sayeed International Convention Centre in the capital.

The minister said Prime Minister Tarique Rahman has given the health sector the highest allocation in history in this year's budget. Proper use of this budget must be ensured for the overall development of the country's health system, he said.

He said that although resources are limited, a revolutionary change in healthcare is possible if the effective use of existing resources is ensured with sincerity and skill.

Zahid Hossain said the government would provide the necessary funding and overall direction to improve the quality of healthcare in the country, but bringing qualitative change to the medical system and ensuring people's service is the responsibility of everyone concerned.

He said everyone must work together so that patients can receive complete treatment for all kinds of complex and modern diseases within the country and nobody has to go abroad for treatment.

At the same time, he laid special emphasis on creating specific career planning to build young doctors as future leaders.

Special guests at the conference included Bangladesh Medical University Vice-Chancellor Professor Dr F M Siddiqui, BNP health affairs secretary Professor Dr Rafiqul Islam, Director General of the Health Services Division Professor Dr Prabhat Chandra Biswas, Doctors Association of Bangladesh (DAB) president Professor Dr Harun Al Rashid and secretary general Dr Md Zahirul Islam Shakil.

The event was chaired by Brigadier General (retd) Syed Awsaf Ali. Professor Dr Md Nazrul Islam, secretary general of the Bangladesh Society of Radiology and Imaging, delivered the welcome speech.

Representatives from various countries including India, Pakistan, the Netherlands, South Korea and the United States, along with local and foreign specialist doctors, teachers, researchers and others concerned, attended the conference.

Speakers at the conference noted that liver cirrhosis ranks seventh among the top 10 causes of death in Bangladesh. About seven million people in the country have hepatitis B, and more than 45 million adults suffer from fatty liver. If the disease takes a complicated form, 40 to 60 percent of patients die within a year, so early testing and awareness are essential, the speakers said.

The speakers also called for avoiding unnecessary CT scans and surgeries, and for introducing a radiation risk allowance in Bangladesh as in other countries.