Health minister faults Dhaka hospital authorities’ ‘negligence’ for six newborn deaths

“They probably died because of a lack of ventilation, with the AC turned off, resulting in a suffocating environment,” he says

Health Minister Sardar Sakhawat Husain Bakul has alleged negligence by Ad-din Hospital authorities over the deaths of six newborns.

During a visit to Shaheed Syed Nazrul Islam Medical College Hospital in Kishoreganj on Wednesday, he also said the infants likely died because of a “lack of ventilation”.

“They probably died due to lack of ventilation, with the AC turned off, resulting in a suffocating environment due to lack of oxygen,” he said.

Senior health ministry officials have visited the hospital, and an investigation committee has begun work, with police deployed on the premises, Sakhawat said.

“Everything necessary will be done to ensure the maximum punishment for those involved in the deaths of the children,” he told reporters.

The newborns died in the hospital’s post-delivery ward in the early hours of Wednesday, a day before Eid-ul-Azha.

The deaths have sparked public outrage and allegations of negligence, mismanagement and unsafe conditions at the hospital in Dhaka’s Moghbazar.

Police, CID investigators and senior health officials rushed to the hospital after the news emerged. Hospital authorities expressed “deep sorrow and grief” over the deaths.

Asked about the measles crisis, Sakhawat blamed what he described as the negligence of the governments of Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus and Sheikh Hasina.

“Measles-rubella vaccination campaigns were supposed to be held every four years. But after December 2020, neither of the two governments carried them out. That is why measles transmission began,” he said.

He also accused the two governments of misusing health sector funds.

“Despite repeated requests from various organisations, including UNICEF, measles vaccines were not procured internationally because of personal interests,” he said.

Sakhawat said the health sector would receive the second-largest allocation in the next budget.

“Hopefully, work to resolve problems at hospitals across the country will begin in July,” he added.