Govt identifies 10 ‘diseases’ in health sector, but what are the cures? 

Highlights:

• 'Diseases' include lack of merit, centralisation, poor leadership
• Substandard medical colleges will be evaluated, may be closed or merged
• Separate PSC will be set up to fast-track health worker recruitment
• Govt to recruit 3,000 doctors in Sept to reduce a 7,000-doctor shortage
• Country lacks 15,000 hospital beds, efforts underway to expand capacity
• Nineteen new dormitories to be built for medical students

Ten major crises or "diseases" have been identified in the health sector over the past year, and initiatives are underway to tackle them, said Prof Dr Md Sayedur Rahman, special assistant to the chief adviser for the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

Speaking at a press briefing today (7 August) at the Shaheed Abu Sayeed International Convention Center, Dr Sayedur highlighted the progress made by the interim government and outlined future reform plans.

"If health is not at the centre of any reform plan, then all reforms become meaningless," he said.

Among the ten major crises identified are the lack of merit, knowledge, and competence in the system; overly centralised healthcare services; excessive reliance on specialists while neglecting primary care; lack of transparency and a culture of impunity; low morale among health workers; dependence on foreign countries for medical equipment, medicines, and ideas; weak maintenance and planning; poor-quality medical education; ineffective leadership and management; and problems in health budget allocation and utilisation.

The government has abolished the quota system in medical and dental college admissions to ensure merit-based selection. "We have made the admission process transparent and fully automated," Dr Sayedur said.

Both public and private medical colleges will be evaluated, with substandard institutions facing closure or merger. "Keeping substandard colleges running puts the entire country's health at risk for 30 to 40 years," he warned. A medical curriculum review is also underway.

Addressing infrastructure shortages, Dr Sayedur noted that Bangladesh currently lacks 15,000 hospital beds. "Right now, 12,000 to 15,000 patients are forced to receive treatment on the floor," he said. Efforts are being made to increase bed capacity through domestic and international support, with hopes that the next government will continue the momentum.

Decentralisation efforts include establishing a Women's Health Institute in the southern region, a Health City in the north, and an elderly care centre in Chattogram.

To tackle workforce shortages, Dr Sayedur announced plans to create a dedicated Public Service Commission (PSC) for healthcare recruitment, as the current PSC takes about three years to complete hiring.

Technological upgrades include linking hospital equipment to an IoT dashboard within the next one to one and a half months, enabling monitoring of underused, costly devices to optimise usage. Additionally, the procurement system has been digitised to improve transparency and reduce impunity.

Other initiatives include ensuring fair salaries and professional development opportunities for health workers; extending the medical internship period from 12 to 18 months, with six months of compulsory rural health centre training; and eliminating all transactions between doctors and pharmaceutical companies to avoid conflicts of interest, while allowing transparent pharmaceutical support for conferences.

A pharmacy network and cooperative-based medicine supply system are in the planning stages. A Medical Accreditation Council will be formed to oversee hospital facility accreditation.

To boost local production, the government will support the manufacturing of raw materials for medicines and medical supplies.

Despite workforce reductions of 700 staff, the Essential Drugs Company has increased production capacity and lowered prices, saving Tk30 crore. Medicine prices overall have stabilised or fallen, with stent costs reduced and cancer drug prices down 5% to 10%.

Bangladesh now produces 7 million tablets daily and is preparing to manufacture intravenous fluids.

3,000 doctors to be recruited in Sept: Adviser Nurjahan

Health Adviser Nurjahan Begum, also present at the briefing, said the country currently faces a shortage of 7,000 doctors.

"We plan to recruit 3,000 doctors in September," she announced. "We've taken this on as a challenge — aiming to complete recruitment within five to six months, compared to the earlier timeframe of three years."

To reduce discrimination among healthcare workers, 7,000 supernumerary posts have been created for doctors, with some promotions also granted among 43,000 senior nurses.

Nurjahan acknowledged delays in ministry work due to ongoing lawsuits filed by various parties, but said digitisation efforts are underway to eliminate commercial influence over promotions.

Concerned about poor living conditions in medical college hostels, she announced the construction of 19 new dormitories to house 10,000 students.

On education quality, Nurjahan highlighted new policies for government and private medical colleges and plans to merge some colleges. "This will improve education quality, not harm students," she said.