Minister of Health and Family Welfare Sardar Md. Sakhawat Hossain has announced that the government will immediately recruit 100,000 health workers in line with BNP election manifesto. He also assured Parliament that there is no shortage of anti-rabies vaccines for dog-bite victims in the country and that no shortage is expected in the future.
While responding to separate questions from Members of Parliament during the budget session of the Jatiya Sangsad, the minister made these remarks on Wednesday. Speaker Hafiz Uddin Ahmed Bir Bikram chaired the session.
The Health Minister said that the current government's goal is to ensure universal health coverage and provide every citizen with healthcare services with dignity and respect. To achieve this objective, efforts are underway to address manpower shortages in the health sector through expedited recruitment.
He noted that filling vacant positions is an ongoing process. As part of this initiative, recruitment is underway for 450 Assistant Surgeons through the 45th BCS, 1,682 through the 46th BCS, 1,331 through the 47th BCS, and 650 through the 50th BCS. Recruitment processes for Senior Staff Nurses and Midwives are also progressing.
The minister further stated that, in accordance with the government's election manifesto, 100,000 health workers will be recruited under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare at the earliest opportunity. The recruitment process will be completed swiftly to fill vacancies in healthcare institutions across the country.
He also said that the late President Ziaur Rahman, the Proclaimer of Independence, laid the foundation of rural healthcare by establishing 31-bed hospitals at the upazila level. Later, former Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia upgraded these facilities to 50-bed hospitals. The current Prime Minister has decided to upgrade all 50-bed upazila hospitals to 101-bed facilities, and implementation of this initiative has already begun.
Responding to another question, the minister said that the country currently has an adequate stock of anti-rabies vaccines. So far, 139,675 vials, equivalent to 558,700 doses, have been supplied nationwide, and distribution is continuing.
He informed Parliament that Banshkhali Upazila Health Complex in Chattogram currently has 50 vials of anti-rabies vaccine and 65 vials, equivalent to 260 doses, of immunoglobulin in stock.
Regarding the supply system, the minister said the government has established a four-tier stock management mechanism. If vaccine stocks are exhausted in any upazila, supplies will be sourced from neighboring upazilas. If unavailable there, vaccines will be supplied from the district level. If necessary, additional stocks will be provided from the Central Medical Stores Depot (CMSD), while district administrations will be authorized to procure vaccines immediately in emergency situations.
Assuring lawmakers, the Health Minister said, “Adequate stocks have been maintained at all four levels across the country. Insha’Allah, even if the number of patients increases, there will be no shortage of rabies vaccines.”
