Health Minister Sardar Sakhawat Hossain on Tuesday stressed the need for coordinated planning and joint initiatives involving all relevant ministries, including water, education, social welfare and local government, to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
He said healthcare could not be ensured through medicines or syringes alone and that greater emphasis must be placed on disease prevention.
The minister made the remarks at a national conference on SDG implementation and review at the Bangladesh-China Friendship Conference Centre in the capital’s Sher-e-Bangla Nagar.
“To achieve SDG Goal 3, alongside improving education and law and order and reducing gender inequality, sectors such as water, education and social welfare must be integrated with the health sector. SDG goals cannot be achieved through medicines or saline alone; disease prevention must be the foundation, and the prime minister is placing the highest emphasis on this,” he said.
Referring to sanitation in rural areas, Sakhawat said people needed to be made aware of the importance of safe water and disease prevention.
“After touching things with dirty hands in markets and other places, people use the same hands and money for transactions. We need to change these unhealthy habits and lifestyles,” he said.
Referring to the water crisis in coastal areas, the health minister said people in the south-western region were being forced to drink yellowish water because of an acute shortage of safe drinking water and salinity.
“I raised the issue at the Paris conference last month, where assurances of international cooperation were received. At the same time, parents need to be aware of the harmful effects of excessive mobile phone or screen addiction among children and junk food or fast food,” he said.
Calling on the Planning Commission to take action, Sakhawat said achieving the SDGs would not be possible if responsibility was placed solely on the Health Ministry.
“A coordinated plan involving all relevant ministries, including water, home affairs, social welfare and local government, must be developed. The ministries concerned should meet at least once every two months and implement it jointly. Only then will it be possible to achieve the desired success,” he said.
The minister also highlighted the importance of preventing child marriage, raising awareness among mothers and promoting breastfeeding, as well as the historical aspects of promoting vegetables and nutrition since the time of late president Ziaur Rahman.
“The SDG targets must be achieved through a joint working approach and implementation by all ministries, rather than through isolated initiatives,” he said.
The programme was chaired by Centre for Policy Dialogue Distinguished Fellow Mustafizur Rahman.
Water Resources Minister Md Shahid Uddin Chowdhury Annie attended as special guest, while reserved-seat MP Anna Minz spoke as guest of honour.
Health Secretary Md Kamruzzaman Chowdhury, Directorate General of Health Services Additional Director General Foyara Tasnim and others were also present.
