Staff Reporter:
The government has allocated Taka 42,315 crore for the Ministry of Defence in the proposed budget for the fiscal year (FY) 2024-25.
The government proposed allocation of Taka 46 crore for the Armed Forces Division for the FY 2024-25 which was Taka 36 crore in the revised budget of FY 2023-24.
The finance minister said significant progress has been made in the health sector in the last one and a half decade.
“Maternal mortality rate was 351 per lakh in 2007, which has reduced to 136 at present. The under-five mortality rate was 60 per thousand in 2007, which has declined to 33 yesterday. Neonatal mortality rate was 29 per thousand in 2007, which has decreased to 20 yesterday. Life expectancy was 66.6 years in 2007, which has now increased to 72.3 years, he said.
The success of Bangladesh’s immunization expansion program has been globally commended, he said, adding the rate of full immunization of children under one year of age increased from 75 percent to 94 percent.
Last year, 10,500 doctors, 15,000 nurses, 1,000 midwives, and 650 medical technologists were recruited to sustain and strengthen these achievements in the health sector, Mahmood Ali said adding another re-cruitment of 10,000 nurses is underway.
While placing the budget for the next fiscal year, he said the government has continued the Expanded Immunization Program (EPI) to protect the children and women from various deadly contagious diseas-es, Currently, immunization activities against 11 deadly contagious diseases are being carried out among the children, adolescent girls and women under the EPI program.
Since October 2023, the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine, which prevents cervical cancer in wom-en, has been included in this program,” the finance minister said adding this vaccine is being given in the form of a campaign to all adolescent girls aged 10-14 years and students of class 5-9 of educational insti-tutions of the country.
Already the first phase of the campaign has been successfully completed in Dhaka Division, Mahmood Ali said, adding it has been decided to add typhoid conjugate vaccine and Japanese encephalitis vaccine to the EPI program in 2025.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has introduced community clinics to implement the initiative taken by the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman to reach the healthcare sector to the door-steps of the rural people, he added.
Against the target of building 18,000 community clinics across the country, 14,311 community clinics have already been constructed, the finance minister said in his proposed budget speech.
He said, “Health services are being ensured to the rural people from these community clinics and 27 types of medicines are being provided free of cost. Recently, the United Nations adopted the first resolu-tion on Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s innovative Community Clinic model, which has been recognized by the world community as a role model titled ‘Community Clinic: The Sheikh Hasina Initiative’.”
The finance minister said the United Nations has urged other member states of the United Nations to emulate this innovative idea of the Prime Minister.
