The government will establish one 200-bed specialised children’s hospital in each of the country’s five divisions, Health and Family Welfare Minister Sardar Md Sakhawat Hossain has said. The hospitals will be fully air-conditioned and equipped with intensive care units.
He said the facilities are expected to be inaugurated within the next six months.
The minister made the remarks on Wednesday at a press conference in the ministry’s conference room at the Secretariat, where he outlined the details of the project. The hospitals will be built in Khulna, Barishal, Rangpur, Rajshahi and Cumilla.
He said procurement of furniture and medical equipment for the five hospitals has already been completed. “We are planning to inaugurate them within the next six months,” he said.
Each hospital will require 1,475 staff members, he added, noting that the prime ,inister has already instructed the public administration ministry to ensure full staffing. A meeting on the matter is scheduled for Thursday.
“Once staff allocation is approved, we will obtain financial clearance from the Ministry of Finance and inaugurate the five specialised children’s hospitals with the prime minister within the next few months,” he said.
On infrastructure details, the minister said each hospital will have ICU facilities, central air conditioning and space reserved for future expansion. “Each will have ICU support and sufficient space for critical care services,” he added.
He said the timeline could be as short as four months, but delays in importing equipment could push inauguration to December 2026 at the latest.
Referring to Dhaka Medical College Hospital, the minister said students and staff have been living in “inhumane conditions” and blamed years of corruption and neglect in the health sector.
“We want to move out of that cycle of corruption and build a corruption-free health service system and a corruption-free Bangladesh,” he said.
He added that residential facilities for doctors and healthcare workers will be improved through a new housing project at Dhaka Medical College Hospital, costing over Tk1,100 crore. The Public Works Department has already prepared the project, and tendering is expected to begin soon.
The minister also highlighted the poor condition of several buildings at Mitford Hospital, saying some structures are at risk of collapse. He said illegal subletting has been removed and new infrastructure will be constructed.
He further said the government plans to build five 1,000-bed specialised maternity hospitals in major cities or nearby areas, likely with Chinese financing. These hospitals will be designed with modern architecture and built on open sites.
He added that construction of these maternity hospitals is expected to begin within the current fiscal year. A new NINMAS building is also scheduled for inauguration on August 15, with preparations already completed, including equipment and staffing arrangements.
