Health services must be overhauled and mindsets must change too: President at dental conference
President Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir has stressed overhauling the country's overall health system, alongside a change in the mindset of everyone involved, in order to take medical care to people's doorsteps.
He made the remarks on Friday morning (13 November) at the inaugural ceremony of the first International Conference and Dental Expo-2026, organised by the Bangladesh Prosthodontic Society.
The President said major change is needed in the country's medical services. The health system has to be rebuilt, and for that the mindset of everyone involved must also change.
He said the country's talented students study medicine and the government has invested substantially in the sector. But the benefits of that investment are not reaching ordinary people.
The President said such a tangle has formed in the medical system that it has become difficult for ordinary people to receive care. In particular, dental treatment costs so much that ordinary people cannot afford it.
Pointing to the limitations of government hospitals, he said most hospitals lack the necessary doctors and adequate arrangements for treatment. At the upazila level, doctors are often not available. As a result, ordinary people are forced to turn to unqualified practitioners.
To change this situation, the President called for appointing enough government doctors at health centres in marginal areas.
On young doctors serving in rural areas, he said many young doctors do not want to go to villages after completing their studies. Even when some do go, they leave after a short time for training or other work. This mindset needs to change, he said, adding that with love and a sense of duty towards people, many of the health sector's mismanagement problems can be removed.
Calling for professional bodies to be kept outside party politics, the President said there should be no partisan division in professional fields. The tendency for everything in an organisation to change whenever the government changes also needs to stop.
He said the people of the country want change. Everyone must work collectively from their own position to establish a universal and people-friendly health system.
Thanking the organisers for holding the international conference, the President expressed hope that the Bangladesh Prosthodontic Society would further strengthen its position internationally and play a role in supporting the country's dental doctors and improving dental health services. At the ceremony he unveiled the society's souvenir, and the society presented him with an honour crest.
Professor Dr Md Saiful Islam, president of the Bangladesh Medical and Dental Council, and Professor Dr Sakhawat Hossain, dean of the dental faculty of Bangladesh Medical University, spoke at the ceremony as special guests. Chaired by Bangladesh Prosthodontic Society president Professor Dr Abu Tayeb Md Ahsan Ullah, the ceremony was addressed in a welcome speech by Dr Md Alamgir Kabir, member-secretary of the society's convener committee. The society's general secretary, Professor Dr Md Masudur Rahman, also spoke.
