Global health a foreign policy issue

Global public health has become “a critical element” of Bangladesh’s foreign policy pursuit, the foreign minister has said.

This is largely due to Bangladesh’s “stellar achievements” in health-related MDGs, AH Mahmood Ali said.

The minister was speaking at an international conference on ‘medical physics in radio oncology and imaging’ in Dhaka on Wednesday.

The conference saw a gathering of experts on medical physics, a new subject in Bangladesh, from the region, including India and Nepal.

Medical physicists say they can play “critical role” in cancer radio-therapy, but remained “ignored” in Bangladesh.

They demanded the creation of posts for them in hospitals for an “efficient management” of cancer patients.

The foreign minister said Bangladesh’s economic growth and lifestyle changes had raised the incidence of cancer and diabetes.

He said Bangladesh remained active in evolving an international discourse on both infectious and lifestyle diseases, though “it is not always as obvious to the wider public”.

He mentioned autism resolution that the WHO passed was mainly an outcome of Bangladesh’s initiative.

Next month, he said, a special event on autism would be held in Dhaka during the WHO South East Asian Regional Conference “to prepare the ground for building a global partnership and plan of action on autism”.

He said apart from regular political engagements in SAARC and BIMSTEC, Bangladesh always encouraged professionals, including medical practitioners, to pursue “meaningful cooperation” among themselves for the sake of the people.

The foreign minister told the professionals from the region that his ministry would be “happy to promote” exchanges of medical professionals.

He also spoke of the government’s health policy, saying it had embarked on “a transformative agenda” in the public health sector by introducing community clinics that took healthcare to people’s doorsteps.

BSMMU Vice-Chancellor Prof Pran Gopal Datta, German embassy’s Charge d’Affaires Von Wehye, President of the Asia-Oceania Federation of Organisations for Medical Physics Prof Yimin Hu and Gono Bishwabidyalay Vice-Chancellor Prof Mesbahuddin Ahmed were present among others.