Staff Reporter:
Social Welfare Minister Prof Dr AZM Zahid Hossain yesterday said no helpless or underprivileged per-son would be deprived of medical treatment due to financial constraints during the tenure of the BNP government.
The minister made the remarks while addressing a program as the chief guest on the occasion of the World Head and Neck Cancer Day 2026 at the National Institute of Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) in the capital’s Tejgaon.
This year’s theme for the day was “Speak Up, Detect Early, Save Lives”, said an official handout.
He said people with speech and hearing impairments can also recover through proper treatment. The minister urged journalists to play an active role in raising public awareness about the disease.
Earlier, the minister inaugurated the hospital’s newly established Auditory Verbal Therapy (AVT) Cen-tre.
Children who are born with hearing impairment or lose their hearing later in life, and for whom no oth-er treatment is effective, receive costly cochlear implant surgery with support from the Ministry of So-cial Welfare.
After the program, the minister distributed financial assistance cheques and assistive devices among pa-tients suffering from various head and neck diseases.
Former principal of Mymensingh Medical College Prof Dr Md Monwar Hossain, Principal of Dhaka Medical College Prof. Dr. Mazharul Shaheen, and President of the Bangladesh Society for Head and Neck Surgeons Prof. Dr. Md. Abdus Sattar spoke as the special guests with Director of the National In-stitute of Ear, Nose and Throat Prof. Dr. Md. Hasan Zafar in the chair.
