8 divisional cities to get cancer, kidney and cardiac hospitals by next fiscal year: State minister

Bangladesh plans to bring full-fledged cancer, kidney and cardiac hospitals into operation in all eight divisional cities by the next fiscal year, State Minister for Health MA Muhit told parliament today.

Muhit said infrastructure work was progressing rapidly, equipment procurement was underway and the final stage of recruiting specialist staff was nearing completion. “We hope that these cancer hospitals will be fully operational within the next fiscal year,” he said during the parliamentary question-and-answer session.

The government is building 15-storey comprehensive hospitals on the premises of medical colleges in Dhaka, Chattogram, Rajshahi, Khulna, Sylhet, Barishal, Rangpur and Mymensingh. Planned facilities include linear-accelerator radiotherapy, chemotherapy, nuclear medicine, daycare beds and modern PET-CT scanning for diagnosis.

Muhit said the initiative would decentralise cancer treatment and provide modern medical services closer to marginalised communities. Once the hospitals open, cancer patients outside the capital should have less need to travel to Dhaka for treatment.

Bangladesh currently has one specialised full-fledged government cancer hospital, the 500-bed National Institute of Cancer Research and Hospital in Dhaka’s Mohakhali area. Government medical college hospitals and military hospitals also operate dedicated oncology units, while cancer services are available at private medical college and specialised hospitals.

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We hope that these cancer hospitals will be fully operational within the next fiscal year.