The government has announced plans to transform the country’s primary healthcare system into a citizen-focused, integrated network, aiming to make preventive and health-promoting services the cornerstone of care.
SM Ziauddin Haider, special assistant to the Prime Minister for Health, shared the details with reporters on Thursday at the Secretariat in Dhaka.
He said the initiative will place each citizen at the centre of a coordinated primary healthcare framework, ensuring services are more accessible and comprehensive.
Under the proposed model, adults will undergo regular blood pressure and blood sugar checks, children’s nutritional status will be monitored, and women will receive screening for cervical and breast cancer.
Mental health services will also be integrated into the primary care system for the first time, Ziauddin Haider said.
He highlighted the importance of early pregnancy detection to provide timely medical support for expectant mothers.
The plan also includes a three-tiered ambulance system for rural areas.
The first tier will facilitate basic patient transport from villages to unions and from unions to upazilas. The second tier will connect upazilas and districts with advanced ambulances, and the third tier will provide specialised ambulances equipped with intensive care facilities.
The system is being developed in collaboration with Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, with a focus on low-cost electric ambulances.
As part of a broader digital health strategy, the government will introduce health ID cards, an integrated patient management system, and a referral network, while community health workers will be brought under the unified framework.
Each union and rural health centre will operate 24/7, with a full-time lab technician and a small pharmacy.
The pilot project will begin in Khulna, Sirajganj, Narsingdi, Noakhali, and Bogura within two weeks.
Over the next three years, the government aims to roll out the network to every union and city ward.
Community clinics will be incorporated into the new network rather than functioning as separate entities.
Emergency services will be coordinated through district-level call centres, ensuring ambulances reach patients quickly while initiating primary care before hospital transfer.
Ziauddin Haider said the initiative represents a major step toward a preventive, community-based primary healthcare system in Bangladesh.
