Health and Family Welfare Minister Zahid Maleque said that healthcare service is being decentralised to reduce the extra pressure on Dhaka in the medical field.
This means that the goal has been set and work has been started accordingly so that the same quality of medical services available in the hospitals of Dhaka can be found in all the 8 divisions of the country. The health minister made the comment while addressing a discussion on the occasion of the World Cancer Day-2022 at the National Cancer Research Institute and Hospital in the capital on Thursday.
“Already, foundation has been established for the construction of 8 hospitals in 8 divisions of the country with advanced and modern standard 15-storey centers for the treatment of high risk diseases like Cancer, Kidney and Liver,” said the minister.
There will be an increase of about 1400 beds only for the treatment of cancer. Around 18,000 community clinics have been set up in different parts of the country and about 32 types of medicines are being provided free of cost, he added.
The minister said, “This is benefiting the people of the town as well as the village. An initiative has been taken to procure high quality equipment for every government hospital in the country, recruit necessary manpower, appoint good doctors in the country's rural hospitals and deliver the same level of medical services everywhere as in Dhaka.”
The minister highlighted in the meeting that 67 percent people die of non-communicable diseases in the country at present. There are about 20 lakh cancer patients in the country now. Every year 1 to 1.5 lakh people are dying of cancer in the country.
“Cancer can be cured if the disease is diagnosed in time. However, it is not detected in many cases and it becomes very difficult to save the patient from the disease. This is why prevention is better than cure in case of cancer,” he said. Before being attacked with cancer, one needs to be aware of how to prevent this dreadful disease. The number of cancer patients is increasing day by day due to air pollution, noise pollution, adulterated food etc. The use of pesticides in food cultivation and increasing use of tobacco are also the issues that need to be worked out. People also need to understand the importance of quality of life and be aware, he added.
Referring to the only National Cancer Research Institute in the country, the minister said, “Under our present government, realizing the importance of cancer treatment, the hospital has increased 50 beds to 300 beds first and then to 500 beds. Now 8 cancer hospitals are being constructed in 8 divisions and more 1400 beds of cancer beds are being added.
The meeting was presided over by Prof Dr Swapan Kumar Bandyopadhyay, Director, National Cancer Research Institute and Hospital. Md Farid Hossain Mia, Director of National Chest Diseases Institute and others spoke at the meeting.
Earlier, Health Minister Zahid Maleque, formally inaugurated the World Cancer Day discussion at 11 am. The minister then unveiled the mural of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. He further inaugurated an RT PCR lab to ensure medical services for cancer patients and to modernise the quality of services.
