Health system collapsed due to corruption, flawed policies: State Minister Muhit

Health and Family Welfare State Minister MA Muhit has said the country’s healthcare system has “collapsed” due to corruption under one government and flawed policy decisions under another, particularly in vaccination programmes.

He said 15 years of widespread corruption and mismanagement, along with subsequent policy failures in immunisation under the interim government, had severely weakened the health system. He added that the government had since moved quickly, launching a nationwide vaccination campaign within a month of taking office.

He made the remarks while inaugurating a nationwide measles vaccination campaign at Shahjadpur Upazila Health Complex in Sirajganj today (20 April).

Highlighting the condition of the sector, Muhit said, “We have inherited a broken health system—outdated and unusable equipment, inadequate treatment facilities, and a lack of security for healthcare workers.”

“A measles outbreak began just 15 days after the government took office. This stems from years of accumulated neglect,” he added. 

The state minister noted that measles, a highly contagious disease, could have been prevented through timely vaccination. 

“Children are now affected because they did not receive vaccines on time,” he said.

Despite the challenges, Muhit said the government had taken swift action. “Within just one month, we have launched a nationwide immunisation campaign,” he said.

He added that high-risk areas were prioritised ahead of the nationwide rollout. 

“We identified the most vulnerable regions and carried out special campaigns. Already around one million children have been vaccinated, while another 500,000 in five city corporation areas have also been brought under coverage,” he said.

The minister expressed optimism that the situation would soon improve, stating, “We believe it will be possible to bring 1.78 crore children under the vaccination campaign within the next month.”

Senior officials from the local administration, health authorities, and political leaders were present at the event.