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FBI-standard DNA laboratories will be established in every divisional city of Bangladesh to ensure the rapid and accurate examination of evidence in complex criminal cases, including murder, rape and the identification of unidentified bodies, Women and Children Affairs and Social Welfare Minister Prof Dr A Z M Zahid Hossain has said.
He made the announcement while addressing an event marking World Cystic Fibrosis Day 2026 at the Bangladesh Shishu Hospital and Institute in Dhaka. Prime Minister’s Special Assistant for Health Dr S M Ziauddin Hyder, who holds the rank of state minister, attended the event as a special guest.
The minister said the laboratories would maintain international standards and allow forensic evidence from serious cases to be examined quickly at the regional level.
“This will enable highly accurate forensic testing of evidence in complex cases such as murder, rape and the identification of unidentified bodies to be completed much faster at the regional level,” he said.
Zahid said providing healthcare to sick people was a fundamental responsibility of the government and that no one should be deprived of education or medical treatment because of a lack of money.
He said the government was working to build an inclusive and humane Bangladesh, where the health and living standards of every citizen would receive the highest priority.
The minister said the Bangladesh Shishu Hospital had begun its journey under the initiative of former president Ziaur Rahman and had gradually expanded its services to become one of the largest children’s hospitals in South Asia.
He thanked the hospital authorities and physicians for introducing modern stem cell therapy for cystic fibrosis, a rare and potentially life-threatening disease.
He also said Bangladesh had received its highest-ever budget allocation for the health sector since the country’s independence.
Zahid said the BNP had not presented a conventional election manifesto but had formulated its pledges through extensive research and by aligning them with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Speaking as a special guest, Dr S M Ziauddin Hyder highlighted the government’s increased budget allocation for the health sector and called for greater emphasis on research.
He expressed hope that the Bangladesh Shishu Hospital and Institute would play a stronger role in research and developing professional skills in the healthcare sector.
Experts at the event said around 200,000 people in 96 countries are currently living with cystic fibrosis, but only about 59% have been diagnosed.
They said only around 27% of patients have access to life-saving modern ETI treatment, while a large proportion of undiagnosed patients live in low- and middle-income countries.
Limited diagnostic facilities and the high cost of treatment are exposing patients in these regions to serious health risks, the experts said.
Specialist doctors, researchers, officials and representatives from various levels of the medical profession attended the event.
