Modern path lab at all UZs hospitals this year: Minister

Health and Family Welfare Minister Sardar Md Sakhawat Hossain has announced that modern pathological laboratories will be established at every upazila health complex across Bangladesh by the end of this year to reduce patients' suffering and ensure accurate disease diagnosis.

The minister made the announcement while addressing a programme as the chief guest at the Sonargaon Hotel in the capital on Monday.

He said that the necessary equipment for the laboratories would be imported later this month. The government has also undertaken a major initiative to expand dialysis services by setting up 50 dialysis beds at each district medical college hospital, 10 beds at every district hospital, and 10 beds at every upazila hospital to make treatment more accessible for the public.

To strengthen healthcare delivery at the grassroots level, the minister said the government has adopted a new strategy under which midwives and caregivers will conduct door-to-door health check-ups using specialised screening equipment.

Expressing concern over the country's population growth, Sakhawat Hossain said the annual population growth rate has reached nearly 3 percent over the past 10 to 15 years, describing the trend as alarming.