Healthcare system must be developed considering needs of next 50 years: Minister

Women and Children Affairs and Social Welfare Minister Prof Dr AZM Zahid Hossain has said Bangladesh’s healthcare system must be developed in a long-term and sustainable manner, taking into account the needs of the next 50 years.

“None of us will remain forever, but this country and its people will. Therefore, we have to develop the healthcare system sustainably, considering the needs of the next 50 years,” he said.

The minister made the remarks as the chief guest at an event organised at the National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases and Hospital (NICVD) in Sher-e-Bangla Nagar, Dhaka, on Thursday to mark ‘The First Open Heart Surgery Day’ and the ‘Cardiovascular Surgical Conference of NICVD-2026’.

Prof Dr SM Rafiqul Islam Bacchu, chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, attended the event as a special guest.

The minister said providing emergency healthcare services free of cost is the responsibility of the state, while the country’s overall financial capacity must also be considered realistically.

He recalled with respect the contributions of renowned physicians and specialists who had worked tirelessly to modernise cardiac treatment in Bangladesh. He also expressed gratitude to Japan for providing technical and technological assistance in developing skilled surgeons during the early stages of cardiac surgery in the country.

Zahid Hossain said the prevalence of heart disease and congenital heart disease was increasing day by day. Failure to effectively prevent these diseases could adversely affect the productive working population in the future.

He said the government had already waived taxes on valves and stents used in medical treatment to keep the cost of cardiac treatment within the reach of ordinary people.

The minister also said the expansion of modern healthcare services in Bangladesh had significantly reduced the tendency among people to seek treatment abroad.

He said the government had allocated Tk 1.43 lakh crore for social safety-net programmes to reduce people’s hardships and ensure public welfare. He also urged affluent members of society to come forward alongside the government in such humanitarian initiatives.

Speaking as a special guest, Prof Dr SM Rafiqul Islam Bacchu said Bangladesh now has the capacity to provide all types of advanced cardiac treatment.

He said the government was sincerely working to ensure people’s health and had ensured the highest allocation for the health sector in the national budget as part of its efforts.

Before the discussion, the minister joined a colourful rally and planted a neem tree on the NICVD premises.

Open-heart surgery was pioneered worldwide in 1953 by Dr John Heysham Gibbon. In Bangladesh, the country’s first successful open-heart surgery using cardiopulmonary bypass was performed at NICVD in Dhaka on September 18, 1981.

To commemorate the historic achievement, September 18 is observed annually in Bangladesh as ‘The First Open Heart Surgery Day’.

The NICVD director, renowned cardiac surgeons, physicians, nurses, officials, employees and media professionals attended the event.

-MT