A total of 11,495 doctor posts are currently vacant at the country’s government hospitals. Health and Family Welfare Minister Sardar Md. Sakhawat Hossain said an initiative has been taken to quickly fill these posts, reducing the staffing shortage in public health care and making treatment more effective for the public.
The health minister shared the information Monday (Sept. 7) during the question-and-answer session in parliament, in response to a question from lawmaker Md. Mosharraf Hossain. Speaker Hafiz Uddin Ahmed Bir Bikram chaired the session.
The minister said that of a total of 41,806 approved doctor posts at government hospitals and health care institutions, 30,311 doctors are currently in service. That leaves 11,495 posts still unfilled.
He said national and international health workforce standards are taken into account when determining how many doctors are needed relative to the population. According to a 2026 government-funded study, applying the World Health Organization’s minimum standard of 0.50 doctors per 1,000 people, Bangladesh would need about 88,909 doctors that year.
The health minister said the total number of doctors in the country and the number serving in the public health system are two different things. He said the government is working both to fill vacant posts at public institutions and to increase the overall number of doctors based on public need.
Several recruitment drives have already been launched toward this goal. A significant number of doctors have been recruited through the 44th and 48th special BCS examinations. Recruitment of assistant surgeons is also ongoing through the 45th, 46th, 47th and 50th BCS examinations.
The minister said the ongoing recruitment drives will fill the vacant posts at public health institutions in phases, with new posts to be created as needed. Through this, he said, the government’s effort to ensure more accessible, quality, people-friendly public health care will continue.