He said this while speaking as chief guest at a roundtable titled ‘Potential of Medical Technology in Improving Healthcare Quality’ organised by the American Chamber of Commerce in Bangladesh at Hotel Westin in the capital on Monday (19 October). At the time, he said, “I am the State Minister for Health, not the State Minister for Hospitals.”
The state minister said initiatives are being taken to connect grassroots health workers with modern information technology and the Internet of Things. The government has announced the recruitment of 100,000 new health workers. They will be provided with modern medical equipment and training. In addition, there are plans to expand specialised medical services at the divisional level and gradually take them to district hospitals and medical colleges.
He said about Tk 70,000 crore has been allocated to the health sector in the current fiscal year. In addition, VAT and taxes have been reduced or exempted on important medical supplies such as heart stents, dialysis filters, active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) and artificial eye lenses. Steps are also being taken to reduce delays in the approval process for medical equipment.
Addressing foreign investors, Dr. Muhit said emphasis must be given not only to selling high-value medical equipment but also to after-sales service, maintenance of equipment, training local engineers and health workers, and technology transfer. He called on US companies to assemble medical equipment inside the country.
The state minister also said there are plans to launch a national e-health and digital monitoring dashboard to ensure the use and monitoring of out-of-order medical equipment. He called on multinational companies to come forward with corporate social responsibility funds to provide medical assistance to disadvantaged populations, especially children with disabilities.
Alamgir Hossain, Director General of the Directorate General of Drug Administration; Syed Mohammad Kamal, President of the American Chamber of Commerce in Bangladesh; Paul G. Frost, Commercial Counsellor at the US Embassy in Dhaka; Dr. Omar Ishrak; and representatives of local and foreign health technology companies spoke at the meeting.
