The citizen platform Health Service Protection Movement formally launched at a discussion meeting at the National Press Club on Saturday. It aims to help patients and relatives who face medical negligence, wrong treatment or mistreatment while seeking care to file complaints and pursue remedies. Convener Nibin Reza and member secretary Mazharul Islam outlined the organisation’s activities, while several family members affected by alleged negligence shared their experiences.

Barrister Sara Hossain said special attention was needed to ensure that socially and economically disadvantaged victims can access justice, and stressed the media’s role in providing accurate health-service information. Barrister Rashna Imam said the country’s current legal framework was insufficient for prompt and effective resolution of negligence complaints, calling for a workable framework involving doctors, hospitals and other parties.

Organisers said the platform will provide information, advice and follow-up support on where and how to complain, which medical documents to preserve, and where legal or institutional assistance is available. It also plans to verify complaints impartially, guide affected people toward support and promote measures to improve future patient safety while giving equal importance to patient rights and doctors’ professional dignity.

More than 350,000 patients in the Gaza Strip urgently need medicines, but medical supplies entering the territory remain far below demand, according to Mohammad Abu Afash, director of the Palestinian Medical Relief Society. He made the remarks in an interview with Al Jazeera, as reported on August 22, 2026.

Abu Afash said there is a shortage of medicines and other medical supplies needed to treat the large number of patients. The aid currently entering Gaza is not sufficient to meet people’s needs, he said, warning that the health situation in the strip could become more severe if access for medical assistance is not arranged.

He also cautioned that continued failure to supply emergency medical materials would place greater pressure on Gaza’s health system and make it extremely difficult to ensure treatment for patients. The Palestinian Medical Relief Society official stressed the need for rapid and adequate delivery of medical assistance to Gaza.

Prime Minister Tarique Rahman has provided financial assistance for the cancer treatment of Laili Begum, mother of student Naim Sikdar, after reports of the family’s situation appeared in media outlets. The aid was handed to Naim’s grandfather, Sattar Sikdar, at an event at Kalidas Kolotan Bidyaniketan in Sakhipur, Tangail, on August 22. Liberation War Affairs Minister Advocate Ahmed Azam Khan MP delivered the cash assistance.

According to the report, Laili Begum was diagnosed with cancer on August 4 and is receiving treatment at Sirajganj Khwaja Yunus Ali Medical College and Hospital. Her family lacks the financial means for treatment, and Sattar Sikdar sold a cow for Tk70,000 to raise funds. Students who passed the SSC examination collected Tk20,000 instead of buying celebratory sweets, while teachers and other students contributed another Tk20,000.

Ahmed Azam Khan said the prime minister directed him to visit the family and school, determine treatment needs and provide immediate support after learning of the case. At the school event, he congratulated 25 students who contributed funds and gave them sweets. উপজেলা administration officials and local political, police and other representatives attended the programme.

Chattogram is preparing to launch a positron emission tomography-computed tomography, or PET-CT, scanning service for cancer diagnosis at the Institute of Nuclear Medicine and Allied Sciences beside Chattogram Medical College Hospital. Installation work on the laboratory is nearly complete, and officials expect the service to begin within two to two and a half months. The facility is intended to reduce the need for local patients to travel to Dhaka for the examination.

Hospital sources estimate that Chattogram has about 400,000 cancer patients, while roughly 120 cancer patients seek treatment at Chattogram Medical College Hospital each day. The hospital director, Brigadier General Mohammad Taslim Uddin, said private PET-CT scans currently cost Tk60,000 to Tk70,000, while a government-run service at the hospital could cost less than half that amount.

The project also includes a cyclotron to produce radioisotopes needed for PET-CT scans. Equipment installation is underway in a specially built underground bunker, and recruitment is nearing completion. PET-CT can identify cancer locations, detect whether disease has spread, and help assess treatment response. The Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission took up the roughly Tk106 crore project in fiscal year 2019-20.

Bogura’s newly built modern district slaughterhouse in Joypurpara has yet to begin operations nearly three months after its May 17 inauguration, as recruitment and tender procedures remain incomplete. Fisheries and Livestock State Minister Sultan Salauddin Tuku inaugurated the facility, built at a cost of about Tk 11 crore, before it was handed over to Bogura City Corporation. The city corporation administrator said operations could begin within the current month.

Built on 50 decimals of land under the World Bank-funded Livestock and Dairy Development project, the facility can slaughter and prepare meat from 15 cattle and 30 goats or sheep an hour. Officials said it has modern waste-management arrangements and is intended to curb unregulated slaughter, reduce pollution and save traders time and labour. Staff will receive training through the Department of Livestock Services after recruitment.

The corporation estimates daily operating costs at Tk 25,000 to Tk 30,000, while slaughter charges have not yet been set. Residents and consumer advocates called for oversight of meat sellers, citing uncertified slaughter, unhealthy animals and waste disposal concerns. Officials said a tender would be invited soon and butcher lists were being prepared.

A personalized mRNA vaccine developed jointly by US drugmakers Merck and Moderna has shown potential to significantly reduce the risk of melanoma returning after surgery. The vaccine is given alongside Merck’s immunotherapy drug Keytruda, with researchers saying the approach could eventually open new treatment options for other tumors and cancers.

In a large study involving more than 1,000 melanoma patients, participants received up to nine doses of the personalized vaccine every six weeks after surgery, together with Keytruda. Five-year data from earlier research showed that adding the vaccine reduced the risk of cancer recurrence by about 50 percent and the risk of spread to other parts of the body by about 59 percent compared with Keytruda alone.

Researchers reported no new significant harmful side effects from combining the vaccine with Keytruda. Merck and Moderna are also testing the technology for non-small cell lung cancer, while studies are under way for bladder, kidney, pancreatic and stomach cancers. Some results from those trials may be available within one to two years.

UNESCO has trained educators in Tanzania to use social media more effectively to raise awareness among young people about health and wellbeing. The three-day practical programme was held from August 12 to 14 and involved peer educators who manage social media at 13 higher and tertiary education institutions in the country. Partner organizations and Tanzania’s health ministry supported the initiative.

UNESCO said young people spend a significant part of their lives online, making social media an important channel for communication, information sharing and awareness-building. Participants were taught how to create accurate, engaging and youth-friendly digital content on sexual and reproductive health, HIV, and prevention of gender-based violence.

The training also covered responsible online communication and the use of social media analytics to understand audience interests. UNESCO said the trained peer educators will return to their institutions and work to provide young people with reliable information. The organization aims to expand health discussions on social media and help young people make informed decisions through the digital platforms they use regularly.

Health Minister Sakhawat Hossain visited the home of Konika Mondol in Baghutia village of Baharpur union, Baliakandi upazila, Rajbari, on Friday morning after her death following a Caesarean procedure. Konika, 35, died at about 2:15am on Wednesday night while receiving treatment at Ibn Sina Hospital in Kallyanpur, Dhaka. Her family alleged that gauze was left inside her abdomen during surgery at Samarita Hospital in Faridpur.

According to her brother-in-law Samir Mondol, Konika was admitted to Samarita Hospital on June 29 for a Caesarean delivery. Doctor Lakkhi Rani Dutta conducted the operation that evening and delivered a baby girl. Her abdomen reportedly began swelling abnormally from the following day. She was admitted to Ibn Sina Hospital on July 3.

Her husband said tests under doctor Abdul Jalil on July 7 detected gauze in her abdomen, which was removed through surgery that day. After media reports on Thursday, the minister ordered formation of a five-member inquiry committee. During the visit, he offered condolences, gave the family Tk50,000 from his personal fund and pledged support.

In an article published on August 21, 2026, Masud Sayeedi recounts the hospitalization and death of his father, Delawar Hossain Sayeedi, at Shahbagh’s PG Hospital on August 13–14, 2023. He says a Kashimpur prison guard informed him that Sayeedi had been urgently taken to hospital, but family members initially could not determine where he had been admitted. They later learned he was being brought to PG Hospital, where security personnel prevented relatives from approaching him.

Masud Sayeedi writes that doctors said an initial ECG indicated a heart attack and that Sayeedi was being managed conservatively after chest pain subsided. He questioned why an angiogram or primary PCI was not immediately performed. He also alleges that family members were excluded from discussions about treatment, blocked from visiting the CCU, and not given regular updates on Sayeedi’s condition.

The account says the family submitted applications through lawyers seeking permission to visit and provide an attendant. Masud Sayeedi says he later heard reports of a second heart attack but received no official confirmation. Police officers eventually took him to the CCU area and informed him that his father had died. The article contains the author’s allegations against political figures, hospital officials and doctors.

Bangladesh’s government has ordered stricter attendance controls for doctors and health workers at public hospitals and health-service institutions. Under an office order issued on August 20, employees who are absent will not have their salary bills released until their absence is resolved. The government also decided to introduce biometric attendance and geofencing technology across all health-service institutions within 30 days.

The order, signed by Assistant Director of Administration-1 Dr Kamrul Islam on behalf of the Directorate General of Health Services, followed an August 16 meeting chaired by Health Services Division Secretary Md Kamruzzaman Chowdhury. The meeting reviewed progress on implementing instructions issued by the prime minister after an inspection of the Health Services Division.

A real-time digital dashboard under the directorate’s Management Information System is to be launched within three weeks. Attendance data will be integrated with the government’s iBAS payroll software and linked to salaries, leave and promotions. Ministry officials have been assigned as divisional and district-level tag officers, while health administrators must submit weekly electronic attendance reports.

Authorities in Pirganj, Rangpur, temporarily shut all operations at the Nagar Maternity Center on Thursday after a pregnant woman and her unborn child died. Upazila Nirbahi Officer Mahmudul Hasan announced the closure following allegations surrounding the treatment of Shraboni, 19, daughter of rickshaw driver Motiur Rahman from Prajapara. Her relatives said she was admitted on Tuesday evening after labor pains began and later died along with her unborn child.

Family members alleged that Shraboni walked to the nearby center with her mother and aunt, underwent tests, and that Tk10,500 was paid in cash for a caesarean section. They said she was taken to the operating theatre, kept waiting for about two hours, and then sent to Rangpur by ambulance. Her father said he was sent elsewhere to buy medicines and, on returning, found her being placed in an ambulance with her face covered.

The health official said repeated verbal instructions to halt the project’s services had not been implemented. The UNO said a doctor reported that Shraboni had eclampsia, seizures and high blood pressure, while the exact cause of death would be confirmed after a civil surgeon’s investigation. Relatives and local residents besieged the center Thursday, demanding punishment for those involved.

AB Party General Secretary Barrister Asaduzzaman Fuad said the government has taken a position against the public by repealing policies governing essential medicines and their prices. Speaking at a press conference at the party’s central office in Bijoynagar on Thursday, he said the decision ignored ordinary and low-income people while prioritising medicine businesses.

Fuad said medicines are life-saving goods rather than merely commercial products, and that patients and the public should remain central to medicine policy. He said nearly 98 percent of medicines are produced domestically, yet people still face high prices. The 1994 Health Ministry circular listed 117 essential medicines, while the interim government’s 2026 policies expanded the list to 297.

According to Fuad, the current government repealed the 2026 Essential Medicines List and Medicine Price Determination Method on August 3 and returned to the earlier framework. AB Party issued seven reform demands, including reinstating the repealed policies, enforcing affordable price controls, reducing brand-based price disparities, curbing unethical incentives for doctors, and adopting long-term measures to strengthen the industry after LDC graduation.

Bangladesh has reported a sharp rise in dengue hospital admissions, with nearly 11,000 patients admitted by August 19, exceeding July’s total of more than 9,200. Since January, more than 26,500 people have been hospitalized with dengue and 76 have died, according to Directorate General of Health Services data. The increase is no longer concentrated only in Dhaka, raising concern about faster transmission in districts outside the capital during the monsoon season.

Dhaka recorded more than 7,000 hospital admissions and 34 deaths, remaining the most affected area overall. Outside Dhaka, Khulna reported more than 1,600 patients and 14 deaths, followed by Chattogram with 1,391 admissions and three deaths. Pirojpur recorded more than 1,200 cases and one death, while Mymensingh reported 924 admissions and six deaths. Gazipur had 720 admissions with no reported deaths.

Experts cited standing water, rain, dense settlements, poor sanitation and water storage as factors supporting Aedes mosquito breeding. They said coastal salinity can require households to store rainwater in containers, while urbanisation and increased use of disposable containers have expanded breeding sites in rural and urban areas. They also pointed to high temperatures, frequent rainfall and gaps in mosquito-control work as contributing factors.

Bangladesh’s Roads and Highways Department plans to deploy 60 advanced basic life support ambulances on selected highway corridors in a pilot programme, Chief Engineer Md Moniruzzaman said on August 19, 2026. The initiative is intended to speed the rescue and hospital transfer of road-crash victims during the critical “golden hour.” Initial routes include the Chandra-Elenga-Rangpur corridor, the Hatikumrul-Natore-Rajshahi Katakhali corridor, and parts of the Dhaka-Mymensingh highway.

Ambulances will be strategically stationed, with plans for one every roughly 10 kilometres on designated sections. A central call centre, operating around the clock, will collect callers’ locations, crash-site details and the number of injured people before dispatching the nearest vehicle. Each ambulance is planned to have three health technologists working eight-hour shifts, while drivers will also operate in shifts.

The service is planned to be free for crash victims and will transport patients to the nearest appropriate hospital. The vehicles are not ICU ambulances but will provide basic life support, including oxygen and necessary medical equipment. Local volunteers along highways are also being trained in first aid, with two volunteers planned every 200 to 300 metres. Authorities say the pilot will identify operational gaps before possible expansion.

A study by Bangladesh Shishu Hospital and Institute and icddr,b found that 82 percent of children who died after contracting measles had not received exclusive breastfeeding during their first six months. The findings were presented on Wednesday morning, August 19, 2026, at Bangladesh Shishu Hospital and Institute in the capital. Researchers also reported that 65 percent of the children who died were malnourished, including 12 percent with severe malnutrition and 53 percent with moderate malnutrition.

The hospital-based study included 354 children admitted with measles. Among them, 43 percent were aged between three and nine months, while 38 percent had not been exclusively breastfed for the first six months after birth. The research paper was presented by Professor Mirza Mohammad Ziaul Islam, director of the institute, and Mustafizur Rahman, senior director at icddr,b.

Researchers grouped 341 children by age and vaccination status. They said further research is needed to determine why measles was confirmed among some children who had received two vaccine doses. Possible factors cited included insufficient immune response after vaccination, declining antibody protection over time, malnutrition, or individual differences, but the study did not identify which factor contributed.