Tuhin Shubhra Adhikary

The government is turning to geofencing and other digital technologies to ensure the regular attendance of doctors and health workers at public hospitals, with plans to link attendance records to salaries, leave and promotions.

4.7 lakh vaccinated in 7 days

Study finds most households borrowing, many exhausting savings and selling assets

The country yesterday recorded its highest-ever daily hospitalisation of measles patients since the outbreak began in mid-March, raising fresh concerns about the persistence of the outbreak two months after the nationwide measles vaccination campaign.

Bangladesh’s public healthcare system is under growing pressure, as district and medical college hospitals are operating at nearly twice their bed capacity, leaving thousands of patients without adequate care.

Thousands of kidney patients will have to wait longer for expanded and affordable dialysis services as a government project to set up dialysis facilities at 59 hospitals has been extended by another two and a half years.

Measles continues to kill nearly four children and hospitalise more than 800 people every day, even as both the government’s response and public attention appear to have waned.

Prime Minister Tarique Rahman has directed the authorities concerned to ensure that doctors remain present at their workplaces amid allegations that many skip duty during office hours, depriving patients of essential healthcare services, health ministry officials said.

The health ministry has started implementing its plan to upgrade all 418 existing upazila health complexes (UHCs) to 101-bed facilities to accommodate the growing number of patients seeking care at public hospitals.

A government committee has recommended that entry-level doctors employed at private medical facilities be paid at least 90 percent of the basic salary of an entry-level government officer, aiming to address years of low and inconsistent wages in the private healthcare sector.

More than 1,000 new hospital beds are set to be added to Bangladesh’s public healthcare system as the government expands capacity to meet rising demand for treatment.

There was a time when family-planning slogans echoed across Bangladesh, on television screens, in newspaper pages, and at village doorsteps.

At a time when the country is grappling with a rising burden of cancer and heart and kidney diseases, a major government project aimed at decentralising specialised treatment facilities beyond Dhaka remains incomplete even after seven years.

Gap exposed after 2.23cr covered by Vitamin A drive; experts fear outbreak may continue

With hospitals still struggling to cope with more than 900 daily measles admissions, a surge in dengue cases threatens to further strain the healthcare system and increase the risk of more deaths, health experts have warned.

The Super Specialised Hospital of the Bangladesh Medical University (BMU) is set to be run as a corporate entity, and its treatment costs will be higher than those of government or autonomous hospitals, officials said.

The government is set to launch its nationwide Vitamin A Plus Campaign on June 28, targeting 2.40 crore children aged six months to under five years -- 58 lakh more than the target set for the measles-rubella campaign for the same age bracket earlier this year.

Bangladesh’s national teleconsultation service, Shastho Batayan, is stumbling as the government’s contract with its private service provider expired nearly two months ago, and many phone calls are going unanswered.

Govt echoes past govts, puts staffing on the back seat

Enrolment of foreign students in Bangladesh’s private medical colleges has declined sharply over the past three years, raising concerns about the sector’s competitiveness and the country’s position as a destination for medical education.