Finance Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury has said that it may take two years for Bangladesh’s economy to recover from the shock of the Middle East war.
He explained that due to the war in the Middle East, the government has had to bear an additional expenditure of about Tk40,000 crore in the oil and gas sector. Additionally, we are paying off Tk50,000 crore in arrears left behind by the previous government in the power and energy sector.”
The minister said this on Saturday morning while speaking as the chief guest at the foundation‑stone laying ceremony of a new building at Chattagram Maa-O-Shishu Medical College Hospital.
Amir Khosru emphasised that healthcare is a fundamental right of every citizen. The government is now prioritising preventive and primary healthcare. To ensure that poor communities receive quality treatment, initiatives are being taken to coordinate with private hospitals.
He added, “Because of the limitations of government hospitals, the government plans to send patients to private hospitals and bear the treatment costs. This will require an increased health budget, and at the same time, proper use of allocations must be ensured.”
Criticising past practices, he said, “Although huge allocations were made in the health sector in the past, much of it was wasted through corruption. Ordinary people did not get the desired healthcare. Constructing large buildings alone is not enough; those who run them must have honesty and responsibility, otherwise the people will not benefit.”
Despite constraints, the government will try to support education and health institutions that are performing well, he noted.
Expressing concern over the design of the new building, he said, “For such a large medical college, provision for only 72 cars is not sufficient. This could cause severe traffic congestion in the future. At least 200 to 250 parking spaces should be provided, even if more basements need to be built.”
Highlighting the need to modernise medical education, the minister said, “We must ensure digital libraries, multimedia‑equipped classrooms, indoor and outdoor sports facilities, and quality canteen services to keep pace with the world.”
He also said, “Due to the lack of skilled technologists, medical equipment worth crores of taka remains unused.” He called for establishing a separate institute for medical technologists, noting that there are significant employment opportunities abroad in this field.
If seats are increased only to raise revenue without maintaining teacher‑student ratios, faculty strength, and infrastructure, the quality of education will suffer. Seats can be increased if these standards are maintained, but lowering quality will damage institutional ratings, he added.
