The government has allocated Tk1.43 lakh crore for social safety-net programmes to ease people’s hardships and promote public welfare, the minister said, urging affluent members of society to come forward in such humanitarian activities alongside the government.
Women and Children Affairs and Social Welfare Minister Abu Zafar Md Zahid Hossain address a speech at ‘Cardiovascular Surgical Conference of NICVD-2026’ at the National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases and Hospital (NICVD) in Sher-e-Bangla Nagar today (18 September),
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Women and Children Affairs and Social Welfare Minister Abu Zafar Md Zahid Hossain address a speech at ‘Cardiovascular Surgical Conference of NICVD-2026’ at the National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases and Hospital (NICVD) in Sher-e-Bangla Nagar today (18 September),
Women and Children Affairs and Social Welfare Minister Abu Zafar Md Zahid Hossain has stressed the need to develop the country’s healthcare system on a long-term and sustainable basis, considering the needs of the next 50 years.
“We will not remain forever, but the country and its people will. Therefore, we must develop healthcare in a long-term and sustainable manner, considering the needs of the next 50 years,” he said.
The minister was speaking as the chief guest at a programme marking ‘The First Open Heart Surgery Day’ and the ‘Cardiovascular Surgical Conference of NICVD-2026’ at the National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases and Hospital (NICVD) in Sher-e-Bangla Nagar today (18 September).
Prof Dr SM Rafiqul Islam Bachchu, chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, attended the programme as a special guest.
Zahid Hossain said providing free emergency healthcare is the responsibility of the state, while the country’s overall financial capacity should also be considered realistically.
He recalled with respect the contributions of renowned physicians and experts who worked tirelessly to modernise cardiac treatment in Bangladesh. He also expressed gratitude to Japan for providing technical and technological support in developing skilled surgeons during the early stages of cardiac treatment in the country.
The minister said the prevalence of heart disease and congenital heart disease is increasing day by day. Failure to prevent these diseases effectively could adversely affect the country’s productive working population in the future, he said.
To keep the cost of cardiac treatment within the reach of ordinary people, the government has already waived taxes on valves and stents used in medical treatment, he added.
He said the expansion of modern healthcare services in the country has significantly reduced the tendency to seek treatment abroad.
The government has allocated Tk1.43 lakh crore for social safety-net programmes to ease people’s hardships and promote public welfare, the minister said, urging affluent members of society to come forward in such humanitarian activities alongside the government.
Speaking as the special guest, Prof Dr SM Rafiqul Islam Bachchu said Bangladesh now has the capacity to provide advanced treatment for all types of heart diseases.
He said the government is working sincerely to ensure public health after overcoming irregularities of the past, and has ensured the highest allocation for the health sector in the national budget.
Before the discussion, the minister joined a colourful rally and planted a neem tree on the NICVD premises.
Open-heart surgery began in the world in 1953 under Dr John Heysham Gibbon. In continuation of that development, Bangladesh performed its first successful open-heart surgery using cardiopulmonary bypass at NICVD in Dhaka on Sept 18, 1981.
The day is observed annually in Bangladesh as ‘The First Open Heart Surgery Day’ to commemorate the historic achievement.
The NICVD director, noted cardiac surgeons, physicians, nurses, officials, employees and media professionals attended the programme.
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