Three key health agencies severely understaffed

Bangladesh’s public healthcare system is operating with nearly one-third of its workforce missing. At least 73,045 of 234,024 posts across the Directorate General of Health Services, the Directorate General of Family Planning, and the Directorate General of Nursing and Midwifery remain vacant, according to the latest official data.

The three agencies run public hospitals, vaccination programmes, contraceptive distribution, and maternal and child healthcare. The shortages are most acute in field offices, which provide much of the country’s primary care. Officials and workers said rural hospitals face long patient queues and lack enough staff for specialised treatment, pushing low-income patients toward costly private facilities.

The shortage also affects family planning. Workers have struggled to distribute contraceptives and provide door-to-door counselling, officials and workers said, increasing the risk of unintended pregnancies.

The Directorate General of Health Services, the country’s main public health agency, had vacancies in 36 percent of its 127,101 posts through August. About 24 percent of positions in grades one to nine, which include doctors and dentists, remained vacant even after around 3,200 doctors and dentists were appointed through a special BCS recruitment process earlier this year.

The gap was larger in grades 11 to 16, which include health assistants, health inspectors, assistant health inspectors, and medical technologists. These workers support vaccination, health education, and pathology services. Akhil Uddin, a DGHS health assistant and former president of the Bangladesh Health Assistant Association, said each health assistant is expected to cover one ward, but shortages may force many to cover several. “We try our best to ensure full vaccination coverage, but many other services, such as health education, cannot be provided properly due to the manpower shortage,” he said.

The Directorate General of Family Planning had 37 percent of its positions vacant, raising concerns about its ability to provide contraceptives, counselling, maternal and child healthcare, and community-based family planning services.

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We try our best to ensure full vaccination coverage, but many other services, such as health education, cannot be provided properly due to the manpower shortage.