15 lakh poor families to get healthcare worth Tk 50,000 annually

The government is going to provide 15 lakh poor families with healthcare services worth Tk 50,000 annually to improve its performance in covering Universal Health Coverage.

Health Minister Zahid Maleque divulged the information at a meeting on increasing universal health coverage for the country's people.

Primarily, poor people in Dhaka, Manikganj, Barishal, Lakshmipur, Barguna and Kurigram will get the service, he said adding that all other districts would also come under the coverage gradually.

Zahid Maleque said that over 67 per cent of the deaths are caused by adulterated food, imbalanced lifestyle and air pollution. Patients with cancer, kidney complications and liver cirrhosis are increasing in the country and their treatments are very complicated and expensive.

“So, the government has decided to stand beside the poor families who are fighting against such complicated diseases and approved an increase of universal health coverage,” he said.

Zahid Maleque also informed that to strengthen universal health coverage in the country, pocket health guidebooks are being distributed across the country.

The health authorities are working to introduce a round-the-clock healthcare service system, primarily in 500 government healthcare centres across the country, he informed.

Talking about pelvic cancer, the minister said that teenage girls aged between 10 and 15, across the country, would get pelvic cancer vaccine from September.

“In accordance with the guideline from World Health Organization, once the vaccine will be given, these girls will never be infected with the disease,” he said. For long being pelvic cancer remain one of the major reasons for death of women in the country and the vaccination will ensure reducing mortality, he added.

While talking about Nipah Virus (NiV) infection, the minister said that the spread of NiV has been contained and no further cases have been detected. According to IEDCR, some seven people died from Nipah infection while some 10 people were infected till the end of the first week of February.