Bangladesh has been making significant strides in development over the last decade. As of 2019, our nation was ranked the 41st largest economy in the world and the second biggest economy in South Asia. Our GDP has been increasing consistently over the last few years and so is the average life expectancy. Nonetheless, despite seemingly positive healthcare indicators, the healthcare industry of Bangladesh has yet to reach its full potential.
High quality healthcare is a key indicator of a developed nation and as we plan on becoming a developed economy by 2041, the healthcare sector needs to make significant positive developments; especially now more than ever, due to the raging global health crisis that is coronavirus.
Even now as Bangladesh celebrates 50 years of independence, there is a noticeable shortage in the number of tertiary care hospitals all over the country. Tertiary care generally refers to those hospitals which provide specialized consultative care besides traditional general healthcare and facilities. Due to lack of state-of-the-art advanced medical facilities in the country, people often travel abroad for better healthcare services. Top destinations for seeking said services include our neighboring countries of India and Thailand, with their wealth of expert and experienced doctors, advanced healthcare technologies and high-quality hospitals.
Nonetheless, while there are a few standard tertiary care hospitals sprawled over the capital, there is a distinct lack of such facilities in the port city of Chattogram. This prompts the citizens to either travel to the capital or overseas to access high quality medical services. However, with the advent of the pandemic and ensuing interstate and international travel restrictions, the aforementioned is no longer a feasible option for the people of Chattogram.
Therefore, patients who would generally travel abroad for treatment are now compelled to seek healthcare services in their own region. Even though there is a shortage of such hospitals in Chattogram, which cater to the market of patients with international expectations for healthcare services, there is still hope as a new state of the art multidisciplinary tertiary care hospital is about to be launched in the port city. As recent media coverage suggests, Evercare Hospital Chattogram, like its counterpart in Dhaka, promises to bring world class healthcare services to the people of the port city, all but eliminating the need to travel elsewhere for high quality medical services.
I believe this to be a welcome news as it will not only foster much needed development in the healthcare sector of Chattogram but it will also create employment opportunities, which is a blessing in this pandemic ridden economy.
Even now, the hospital, with its globally renowned state-of-the-art facilities, can prove to be significantly beneficial for patients who are suffering from the virus. The recent surge in infection rates along with the higher intensity of suffering are already pushing medical facilities beyond their capacity. As the second largest city of the country, Chattogram must also be well prepared to handle such unfortunate surges. Especially in this regard, the launch of such a high standard, 470 bed medical facility, hailing from a globally recognized healthcare group, will prove to be significantly beneficial in catering to Covid patients, especially those in need of cabins or ICUs.
As mentioned earlier, developments in the healthcare sector are crucial in nurturing and maintaining the growth and development of the country. Therefore, promising additions to the existing healthcare sector, like that of Evercare Chattogram, will help us be better equipped to fight against any alarming health crises in the future as well as bring us closer to our vision of a developed Bangladesh.
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