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State Minister for Health Dr MA Muhit has said the government’s priority is not to expand hospitals but to prevent diseases, physical disabilities and premature deaths from the grassroots level.
“I want to make it clear that I am the state minister for health, not for hospitals,” he said while addressing a discussion on the potential of medical technology to improve healthcare quality, organised by the American Chamber of Commerce in Bangladesh (AmCham) at The Westin Dhaka on Monday morning.
Muhit said the government planned a major shift in national health policy, placing greater emphasis on preventive healthcare rather than hospital-based treatment.
He said hospital admission often indicated an initial failure of the healthcare system, stressing the need to prevent illnesses before they required hospitalisation.
Moving away from the traditional healthcare model, the government was connecting grassroots health workers with modern information technology and the Internet of Things (IoT), he said.
The government has already announced plans to recruit 100,000 new health workers, who would receive not only training but also modern medical equipment, Muhit added.
Highlighting the growing burden of non-communicable diseases, he said specialised healthcare services were being decentralised to divisional-level facilities so patients would not have to travel to Dhaka for treatment. The services would eventually be expanded to district hospitals and medical colleges across the country.
Muhit said the government’s first budget had reduced or waived VAT and taxes on essential medical supplies, including cardiac stents, dialysis filters, active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) and artificial eye lenses. The health sector had also received an allocation of nearly Tk70,000 crore in the current fiscal year, the highest in the country’s history, he added.
On delays in approving imported medical equipment, Muhit said the government was working to clear the backlog. A committee that had previously gone as long as two years without meeting had held three meetings in the past five months to approve medical equipment, he said.
Addressing American investors, the state minister said selling expensive medical equipment in Bangladesh was not enough. Companies should also consider lifetime operating costs, after-sales services and advanced training opportunities for local engineers and healthcare workers.
He urged US companies to train engineers from leading institutions such as Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) and the University of Dhaka in medical technology, while supporting local assembly of medical equipment and technology transfer.
Muhit also announced plans to introduce a national e-health and digital monitoring dashboard to oversee medical equipment that remained out of service.
He called on global multinational companies to use their corporate social responsibility funds to support healthcare for disadvantaged and marginalised communities, particularly children with disabilities.
Other speakers at the discussion included Directorate General of Drug Administration Director General Alamgir Hossain; AmCham President and Mastercard Vice-President Syed Mohammad Kamal; US Embassy Commercial Counsellor Paul G Frost; and Dr Omar Ishrak, former chairman of Medtronic plc and Intel Corporation.
The meeting was also attended by Medtronic Bangladesh Country Director Mayank Tripathi, GE Healthcare Bangladesh Country Head and Director Muhammad Asaduzzaman (Romel), Becton Dickinson Bangladesh Business Leader Mirza Sajib Raihan, and AmCham Healthcare Subcommittee Director-in-Charge and Natco Bangladesh Managing Director Al-Mamun M Russell.