Additional budget allocation for universal healthcare, says finance minister

Finance and Planning Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury has announced that additional allocation will be made in the health sector in the next budget to ensure the government’s commitment to universal healthcare.

He urged all concerned to ensure the fair and effective use of allocated funds.

The minister made these remarks while speaking as the chief guest at the foundation stone-laying ceremony for the 18th floor of the new academic building of Chittagong Mother and Child Hospital Medical College on Saturday.

He highlighted that government hospitals are struggling with increasing patient loads due to space constraints and other limitations, depriving many poor and vulnerable patients of proper care. The government is considering the use of private hospitals to address this issue, with the state covering the treatment costs.

Referring to the impact of the ongoing wars, the minister said an additional Tk40,000 crore has been spent on the fuel oil and gas sector. Disruptions in shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz have also created pressure on the country’s fuel supply.

He criticised previous governments, stating that a huge amount of public money had gone into the oil and gas sector due to the Middle East conflict, and that they had left arrears of around Tk50,000 crore in the electricity and energy sector.

The minister noted that public money had been wasted on corruption in the past and expressed hope that the current government’s efforts would help turn around various sectors of the economy within the next two years.

On medical education, he stressed that the entire nation suffers from the impact of substandard medical colleges and that no compromise can be made in healthcare and medical education. Patient welfare must take precedence over personal influence or political lobbying.

Regarding demands for more MRI machines, increased government allocation, and additional seats in the hospital, he said that simply increasing seats without maintaining the proper student-teacher ratio would not be effective.

The programme was presided over by Syed Morshed Hossain, chairman of the hospital’s board of directors. Addresses were also given by Medical College Principal Professor Asim Barua, board general secretary Rezaul Karim Azad, and Development Committee chairman Abdul Mannan Rana.

Later in the afternoon, the Finance Minister visited various areas of the waterlogging relief project in Chittagong city. He assured that there would be no more prolonged waterlogging in the city.