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Published : 03 Jun 2026, 01:53 PM
The government plans to build five 200-bed specialised children’s hospitals across five divisions, Health Minister Sardar Md Sakhawat Husain says.
The announcement came on Wednesday at the ministry conference room in the Secretariat, where he also said the facilities would be inaugurated within the next six months.
The minister said hospitals will be set up in Khulna, Barishal, Rangpur, Rajshahi and Cumilla, with furniture and equipment procurement already initiated through tendering.
He said each hospital will require 1,475 staff members, and the prime minister has directed the public administration ministry to ensure full staffing arrangements.
A meeting is scheduled on the matter, after which financial coding will be finalised for funding clearance.
“We want to break free from the cycle of corruption and build a corruption-free health care system,” Sakhawat said, adding that the sector had suffered from neglect over the past 17 years.
He said ICU facilities and central air-conditioning systems will be installed in each hospital, with space reserved for future bed expansion and additional critical care capacity.
If import procedures and letters of credit cause delays, the inaugurations may be pushed to December, although efforts are under way to complete the project within four to six months, he added.
He also criticised the living conditions of students at Dhaka Medical College Hospital, saying they were enduring inhumane accommodation due to long-term neglect.
He said a new residential building project worth over Tk 11 billion is being prepared, with tenders expected shortly under the Public Works Department.
Prime Minister Tarique Rahman is expected to announce the initiative in July.
Referring to Sir Salimullah Medical College Mitford Hospital, Sakhawat said several buildings are in a dilapidated condition and could collapse at any time, adding that condemned structures would be cleared for redevelopment.
The minister said a separate initiative involving China–Bangladesh joint cooperation is being prepared to construct five 1,000-bed women’s specialised hospitals in major urban or peri-urban locations with modern architectural design.
He also mentioned that work on specialised women’s hospitals is expected to begin within the current fiscal year, alongside the inauguration of a new National Institute of Nuclear Medicine and Allied Sciences (NINMAS) building planned for Aug 15.
