Tuhin Shubhra Adhikary

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.