Tuhin Shubhra Adhikary

The government will resume the nationwide Vitamin A plus campaign after a suspension of more than a year, a gap experts say may have worsened the measles outbreak.

Weeks after the 100-bed Narsingdi District Hospital was approved for 150 additional beds, the district has now been granted a public medical college.

The health sector received the biggest boost in the proposed national budget for the next fiscal year, with a sharp increase in allocation and a package of tax concessions aimed at lowering healthcare costs for ordinary people.

The government has taken up a Tk 344 crore project to expand the Bangladesh Shishu Hospital and Institute, as the country’s largest children’s hospital struggles to meet rising demand for treatment, particularly during measles and dengue outbreaks.

An investigation by the Directorate General of Health Services has found clear negligence by hospital authorities, nurses, and staff, as well as the absence of an on-duty physician, to be responsible for the deaths of six newborns at Ad-din Medical College Hospital in the capital’s Moghbazar last week.

Probe committee examined six issues

Although the monsoon season is approaching, the health authorities have yet to take any initiative to conduct the pre-monsoon entomological survey that experts say is crucial for identifying mosquito breeding hotspots and preventing a major dengue outbreak.

After a two-day lull during the Eid holiday, both suspected measles cases and hospital admissions have risen over the last four days, raising fresh concern.