Published : 15 Aug 2026, 08:26 PM
Updated : 08 Sep 2026, 09:33 AM
Prime Minister Tarique Rahman has said that humane behaviour by doctors is indispensable in healthcare, stressing that technology alone cannot improve the system.
He made the remarks on Saturday morning after inaugurating a new 500-bed building at the National Institute of Neurosciences and Hospital in Dhaka’s Agargaon.
Speaking at the inauguration programme, the prime minister said technology could help identify diseases, but doctors' compassion was essential in understanding patients' emotional and psychological struggles and reassuring them.
“Technology alone cannot make a healthcare system advanced. Humanity is extremely important alongside it. Technology can diagnose diseases, but there is no substitute for humane behaviour from doctors when it comes to understanding patients' fear, anxiety and mental distress and reassuring them,” he said.
Tarique also stressed the importance of making healthcare accessible and equally available to everyone.
“The right to health is not only a fundamental right, it is also the key to a nation's economic and social development. We believe healthcare must be accessible and equally available to all,” he said.
The prime minister said advanced medical treatment could not be considered a fully modern healthcare service if it remained limited to wealthy people in cities.
“If advanced treatment is limited only to wealthy people in cities, it cannot be called a comprehensive modern healthcare system,” he said.
He said the government had therefore taken different measures to ensure affordable and quality healthcare reached people in remote areas, poor communities and marginalised groups.
The expanded facility at the hospital is expected to strengthen healthcare capacity in a specialised field, while the government's broader focus, according to the prime minister, is to make quality treatment more accessible across the country.
Tarique said healthcare should be viewed not only as a basic right but also as an important foundation for wider economic and social progress.
