Equal status for nurses is vital for Bangladesh’s healthcare, says Farhad Mazhar

He warns Bangladesh cannot ensure public healthcare without restoring dignity to nurses

Poet and political thinker Farhad Mazhar has demanded that nurses be granted equal professional status to doctors, alongside the immediate formation of a “National Nurse Commission” to ensure health services for the people.

Speaking at the Zahur Hossain Chowdhury Hall of the National Press Club in Dhaka on Thursday, Farhad said the government must form a commission with equal authority and decision-making power to that of existing medical bodies.

He said symbolic gestures would not be enough, and the commission must function as a core policymaking force within the health sector.

Farhad stressed that nurses should receive the same professional dignity and recognition as doctors.

Without elevating the nursing profession, he warned, Bangladesh will never be able to establish a functioning public healthcare system.

As head of Swasthya Andolon, Farhad described nursing as a noble and essential profession, saying it holds equal value in medical services.

Nurses are not subordinate to doctors, he said, but rather equal contributors. Without proper care, there can be no effective treatment, and without the services nurses provide, medicine loses its foundation.

Referring to a recent two-day workshop organised by his movement, he said the goal was to raise public awareness that unless the profession of nursing is properly honoured and respected, Bangladesh’s healthcare system will continue to “deteriorate”.

He noted that the situation has already worsened, which is why his organisation has aligned itself with the nurses' movement.

He added that the movement will continue until “healthcare for all” is ensured in the interest of the people.