Health Minister Sakhawat Hossain informed the National Parliament on Wednesday that 9,407 of the 41,806 approved doctor positions in Bangladesh’s government hospitals remain vacant. He also said 5,032 nursing posts and 8,784 other health staff positions are unfilled. The information was provided in response to questions from lawmakers during a parliamentary question session presided over by Speaker Hafiz Uddin Ahmed.

The minister detailed that at upazila health complexes, 5,782 doctor posts are vacant out of 13,211, while 1,663 nursing posts and 1,066 other staff positions remain open. At union sub-health centers, 670 doctor posts and 466 midwife posts are vacant. Across the country, 14,460 community clinics are currently operational, each receiving an annual medicine supply worth 247,900 taka.

Hossain also warned that poultry and fish feed made from tannery waste pose serious health risks, including cancer and liver disease, due to toxic chromium compounds. He said the government has relocated tanneries from Hazaribagh to Savar’s leather industrial park to reduce public health hazards.