State Minister for Health and Family Welfare Dr. M A Muhit is leading the Bangladesh delegation at the 79th World Health Assembly currently underway in Geneva, Switzerland.

In his statement delivered on behalf of Bangladesh, he said the new government has placed health at the very center of national development. 

“However, more than 70 percent of the country’s total healthcare expenditure is still borne directly by individuals, pushing many families towards poverty,” he noted.

Dr. Muhit said the government is working to gradually increase public health allocations alongside ensuring integrated primary healthcare services for all, establishing an effective referral system, and introducing modern digitalization to change the situation.

He, as head of the Bangladesh delegation, delivered the country’s official statement at the main session of the conference on May 19, a press release said today.

A six-member high-level delegation led by Dr. Muhit is participating in the event, considered the largest international gathering in the health sector.

Alongside the main session, Dr. M. A. Muhith also participated in a policymaking meeting of the Global Vaccine Alliance at a side event of the World Health Assembly.

During the event, he outlined the current government’s ongoing health reform agenda.

He said various programmes are being undertaken to raise health awareness and promote healthy lifestyles.

In his address to the World Health Assembly, the state minister expressed concern over the adverse health impacts of climate risks on Bangladesh.

“Climate change is rapidly altering disease patterns and creating severe additional pressure on the country’s existing healthcare system,” he said.

He also noted that the prolonged presence of more than 1.3 million Rohingya citizens forcibly displaced from Myanmar has become a major burden on Bangladesh’s limited healthcare services and infrastructure.

At the event, the state minister urged world leaders to quickly finalize a safe, transparent, accountable, and equitable “Pathogen Access and Benefit Sharing” system.

He also stressed the need for efficient use of resources and emphasized strengthening global cooperation to combat silent killers such as non-communicable diseases and antimicrobial resistance.

The assembly is expected to conclude on May 23.