Adequate vaccines available to prevent pneumonia: Health minister

Health Minister Sardar Md Sakhawat Husain has said that the country has an adequate stock of vaccines to prevent pneumonia and the government has the capacity to import more if necessary.
He urged health experts to specify the measures needed to protect children from pneumonia, assuring them that the government would provide necessary equipment and all kinds of support. Assistance from the prime minister would also be sought if required, he said.
The minister made the remarks while addressing a discussion organised by the Bangladesh Paediatric Society at Bangladesh Medical University (BMU) in the capital on Thursday, marking World Pneumonia Day.
He said lack of awareness among families and unhealthy living conditions are among the major causes of pneumonia and other childhood illnesses.
During hospital visits, he had found cases where more than one child was kept in a single bed. There were also instances of one mother’s breast milk being fed to another child, creating serious health risks, he said.
Children often fail to receive proper care due to family complications and a lack of awareness, the minister added.
He said around 25,000 “Family Welfare Visitors” would be engaged at the grassroots level to raise awareness among mothers about breastfeeding, child nutrition and hygiene.
They would also be provided with small portable screening machines to conduct breast examinations, he added.
The health minister also outlined plans to introduce improved screening facilities for the early detection of breast and cervical cancers.
Drawing on the experiences of countries such as Sri Lanka and Germany, the government would develop an early detection system for the two types of cancer in Bangladesh, he said.
The initiative would help bring affected women under treatment at an early stage and improve their chances of recovery, he added.
BMU Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr FM Siddiqui attended the programme as a special guest, while Dean of the Faculty of Paediatrics Prof Dr Md Atiar Rahman moderated the discussion.