Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal has proposed to allocate Tk100 crore for the development of health services through integrated medical research.
His proposal comes at the back of a decade where allocation of funds for medical research and development has been low.
Minister Kamal said that time has come to ensure a better healthcare system for all by assimilating the country’s public medical-health and health-education services, developed through our own research, with help from the developed world’s science and technology.
He mentioned that the experience of tackling the Covid-19 pandemic has uncovered a number of weaknesses in the health sector that has forced the formulation of plans to sustain the government’s long-term strategy in this sector to prevent and combat any future outbreaks of a similar nature.
The minister stressed the need to invent sustainable methods of combating any pandemic, and to conduct proper research on epidemiology and disease control.
“We will have to engage ourselves strongly in health science, engineering, and research related tasks,” the minister said, adding that the government’s objective is to transform the health sector by developing a research culture.
“I propose to form an ‘Integrated Health-Science Research and Development Fund’ of Tk100 crore to finance the activities for the development of research in health-education, science, and technology.”
“A high-powered committee consisting of experienced researchers in the health sector, nutritionists, public health experts, sociologists, economists, environmentalists, civil society, and other suitable representatives will be formed to manage this fund efficiently and effectively,” added Mustafa Kamal.
