News Flash
SANGSAD BHABAN, June 10, 2026 (BSS) - Health and Family Welfare Minister
Sardar Md. Sakhawat Husain today assured parliament that there would be no
shortage of Anti-Rabies vaccines anywhere in the country, saying the
government has maintained stocks at multiple levels to ensure uninterrupted
supply.
Replying to supplementary question from opposition lawmaker (Bangladesh
Jamaat-e-Islami) Mohammad Zahirul Islam (Chattogram-16) in the Jatiya Sangsad
(JS), the minister said people exposed to rabies animal bites require a
series of four vaccine doses over an 18-day period and the government has
taken comprehensive measures to guarantee availability of the life-saving
vaccines.
"We have already kept vaccine stocks at three tiers across the country.
Adequate quantities are available at the upazila level, while anti-rabies
immunoglobulin has been stocked at district hospitals," he said.
The minister said if vaccine stocks run out in any upazila due to an
unexpected surge in demand, supplies would immediately be collected from
neighboring upazilas.
If necessary, district authorities would provide additional doses, and deputy
commissioners have been instructed to procure vaccines on an emergency basis
until central supplies arrive, he added.
"We have maintained reserves at four levels. I want to assure the honourable
member that, by the grace of Almighty Allah, there will be no shortage of
vaccines during the coming season despite any increase in demand," he told
the House.
Responding to another supplementary question on healthcare services, Sakhawat
Husain said the government has undertaken a series of initiatives to expand
healthcare facilities and bring services closer to people.
He said the government has decided to upgrade 50-bed and 100-bed hospitals
across the country with improved manpower, equipment, ICU facilities and
other modern healthcare services.
The minister also informed that five children's hospitals in Rajshahi,
Rangpur, Barishal, Cumilla and another divisional city would be upgraded to
200-bed facilities within the next six months.
In addition, he said work on a cancer hospital is progressing rapidly, with
installation of machinery completed and furniture procurement already under
process.
Highlighting the government's grassroots healthcare strategy, the minister
said some 100,000 health workers would be recruited nationwide, with 80
percent of the positions reserved for women, to ensure healthcare services
reach people at the village level.
He also acknowledged that some hospitals are facing medicine shortages due to
increased patient loads and bed-capacity expansions that were not matched by
corresponding increases in allocations during previous administrations.
"The government is now taking steps to revise allocations and improve routine
healthcare services," he continued.
Earlier, replying to a starred question from opposition lawmaker Mohammad
Zahirul Islam (Chattogram-16), Sakhawat Husain said the government has
already supplied 139,675 vials of anti-rabies vaccine nationwide.
He said the supplied quantity is equivalent to 558,700 doses of vaccine,
calculated at four doses per vial.
The minister further told the House that the supply of anti-rabies vaccines
is continuing across the country to ensure treatment for dog-bite victims and
prevent rabies-related deaths.
He reaffirmed the government's commitment to maintaining an uninterrupted
supply of the life-saving vaccine at public health facilities nationwide.
