Health and Family Welfare Minister Mohammad Nasim yesterday urged wealthy citizens to make donations to support cancer treatment services, at a round table discussion titled “Cancer Treatment in Bangladesh: Capabilities and Possibilities.”
Organised by BEACON Pharmaceuticals and the Bangla daily Prothom Alo, the discussion was held at the newspaper’s Karwan Bazar office on the eve of World Cancer Day today.
The internationally observed day’s motto this year is: “We can. I can.”
“The government alone cannot provide for full treatment for the country’s cancer patients. No country can do it alone. We urge rich people and businessmen to come forward and donate to our cancer treatment services.
“This will assist government efforts and encourage people to get treatment in their own country,” Nasim said.
He urged private hospitals to keep their cancer treatment prices within reasonable limits.
The health minister said the government plans to upgrade the twenty-year-old equipment at public sector hospitals and to increase the number of cancer treatment centres.
Hospitals, struggling to cope with the number of cancer patients, urged the government to establish new centres at the district level capable of providing low-cost treatment.