Social Welfare Minister Abu Zafar Md Zahid Hossain has said the government has made the highest-ever budget allocation for the health sector, aiming to improve healthcare services and bring them within everyone’s reach.
“The government’s main goal is to build a healthy and prosperous nation by ensuring proper utilisation of the allocation,” he said.
Zahid, who also serves as the women and children affairs minister, made the remarks on Tuesday while inaugurating Daudpur General Hospital in Rupganj, Narayanganj, as the chief guest, according to a PID release.
Chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare Prof Dr SM Rafiqul Islam Bachchu and MP Mostafizur Rahman Bhuiyan Dipu attended the programme as special guests.
Highlighting the expansion of healthcare infrastructure, Zahid said upazila health complexes were upgraded to 31-bed facilities during the tenure of Shaheed President Ziaur Rahman and later expanded to 50 beds under former prime minister Khaleda Zia.
He said Prime Minister Tarique Rahman had now taken steps to upgrade the facilities into 151-bed hospitals to expand access to healthcare.
The minister said the government alone could not address all challenges in the health sector, calling for sincere cooperation and participation from people across society.
He urged affluent citizens to contribute to the country's health and social welfare sectors, assuring them of continued government support for such initiatives.
Speaking at the event, Prof Dr SM Rafiqul Islam Bachchu alleged that around Tk28 lakh crore had been laundered abroad from Bangladesh over the past 17 years.
He said the economy had been left in a fragile and chaotic state and could not be restored overnight. Time would be needed to overcome the crisis and return the economy to stability, he added.