All children with disabilities to be brought under govt healthcare, project formulated: State minister

All children with disabilities in villages and cities will be brought under government healthcare, as a special project has been formulated for this purpose, State Minister for Health and Family Welfare Dr MA Muhit said today (27 June).

While speaking as the chief guest at the inauguration of service activities of the CSF Centre in Dhaka's Korail slum, he said healthcare for children with special needs is being extended to the upazila level and that the health directorate has prepared and formulated a major project in this regard.

The centre began its formal journey with the theme "Identification of disability, rehabilitation and inclusive healthcare for developing the potential of every child."

The proposed FY27 national budget, set to be passed on 30 June, includes specific and special financial allocations for people with disabilities and for identifying and reducing disabilities, he added.

Muhit said real progress lies in ensuring humanitarian development and equal rights for every disadvantaged person in society.

The government is working to ensure equal rights for every person with disabilities by bringing fundamental changes to its policymaking, budget and management, he added.

"We often understand development as having a lot of money or constructing big buildings. But real development of society, or humanitarian development, will not happen only through buildings.

"If we want to develop as human beings, we must have compassion for the person in society who has a slight difficulty or disability. Otherwise, only infrastructure-based development will take place, but real social transformation will not happen," the state minister said.

Describing the government as a highly "humanitarian government", he said the state is bringing permanent changes to its structure so that children born with different illnesses are not lost to neglect and can join the mainstream of society, study, find employment and lead normal lives.

On taking healthcare services for people with disabilities to the marginal level, he said the Directorate General of Health Services has already completed work on formulating an integrated project.

The main objective of the project is to ensure that every child with special needs living in cities, towns or remote villages comes directly under government healthcare services, he added.

Special programmes will be implemented in every upazila of the country under the project, he said.

At the same time, long-term initiatives have been taken by the Ministry of Education to ensure not only healthcare but also equal rights in education for children with disabilities, he mentioned.

Arrangements are being made to provide advanced training to teachers so that children with special needs can study in general educational institutions at the district and upazila levels with the same dignity as other children, the state minister added.

Muhit said specific measures are also being taken to make the environment and infrastructure of those schools suitable for children with special needs.

Speaking about underprivileged children in the Korail slum, he said the "Shishu Swargo" programme inaugurated there by the prime minister's wife Dr Zubaida Rahman will remain active throughout the year.

Specialist doctors from various leading medical centres and institutes in the country will regularly visit the CSF Centre to provide healthcare services to marginalised children, he added.