Chief Advisor Muhammad Yunus has rightfully described healthcare workers as the “key heroes” of the grim days of last year’s uprising. It is only right to honour the courage of the doctors, nurses, and all others at our hospitals and medical facilities for their role.
However, while their sacrifices at great risk to their own well-being cannot be questioned, what can also not be questioned is that we as a nation have systematically neglected responsibility to the health sector, and therefore by extension, to the very people it serves.
The events in July and August of last year, and the months afterwards, of selfless healthcare workers having to choose between duty and personal safety should not distract from the fact that there is much that has to be done for this country’s healthcare to be functional and one that caters to the needs of all people.
Bangladesh’s health sector has long been one identified by chronic underfunding and administrative interference, where oftentimes, the immediate needs of patients have not been the driving factor for care. It is no wonder that those who can afford to often seek treatment abroad, with public trust in our hospitals and medical facilities continuing to erode.
Moving forward, as we speak of reforms, let us not ignore the healthcare sector as well. We speak of the nation becoming more equitable, and that does not happen if the majority of the nation cannot receive adequate care from its medical facilities.
If we indeed are to be a nation that is no longer identified as a least developed country, then we must demand a healthcare sector that is also not least developed.
