Work is under way at full pace to upgrade 50-bed health complexes in every upazila across the country to 150 beds, in order to bring healthcare to people’s doorstep, State Minister for Health Dr. M A Muhit has said.
He said the government is placing the highest priority on ensuring public health protection through disease prevention, rather than people having to run around seeking treatment after falling ill. For that reason, he said, this year’s budget allocated the highest-ever funding for the health sector in the country’s history.
He made the remarks Thursday morning while formally inaugurating a nationwide oral cholera vaccination campaign in the capital’s Tejgaon.
At the event, alongside launching the vaccination campaign, the state minister for health administered the vaccine to a person with a disability and called on everyone nationwide to take part.
The state minister said that if preventive measures are prioritized over treatment, people will stay healthier, and the additional burden of patients on the national healthcare system will also ease.
Highlighting the importance of vaccination in eliminating cholera and diarrheal illness, Dr. M A Muhit said this is an easily administered oral vaccine. He said the vaccine must be brought to every person, from remote villages far from cities to hard-to-reach char [river-island] areas and remote hill communities.
He called on all social organizations and local leadership to join together to turn the vaccination drive into an effective “social movement.”
Speaking on the use of safe water, he said that beyond vaccination alone, ensuring the use of 100 percent purified and safe water — and its proper storage — for drinking, cooking and every daily household task is essential to staying protected from severe waterborne diseases such as cholera and diarrhea.
The event was chaired by Health Services Division Secretary Md Kamruzzaman Chowdhury.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report