DHAKA : Social Welfare Minister Abu Zafar Md. Zahid Hossain today stressed the need to harness modern technology to ensure the best possible healthcare services for all patients, including children, at grassroots levels.

“Outdated ideas must be abandoned, and modern technology should be utilised to provide the highest standard of treatment for all patients, particularly children, across the country,” he said.

The minister was addressing a financial assistance distribution programme organised by the Patient Welfare Association at the Bangladesh Shishu Hospital and Institute in the capital. The assistance was provided by the Ministry of Social Welfare.

The minister said the government remains committed to ensuring healthcare services for underprivileged and low-income people while promoting the health and well-being of children.

Noting that children constitute around 34 percent of the country's population, he said quality healthcare for them must be available not only in Dhaka but also in hospitals across the country.

The minister said the present government has been implementing expanded social protection programmes and other welfare initiatives compared to previous years.

“In this context, financial assistance for the treatment of children from poor families is essential,” he added.

On the occasion, the minister distributed cheques worth Tk 50,000 each among the guardians of 40 children admitted to the hospital who are suffering from congenital heart disease, kidney disease, cancer, liver cirrhosis, and stroke-related paralysis.

Secretary to the Ministry, Director General of the Department of Social Services, physicians, nurses, hospital officials and employees, and relatives of patients, among others, were present at the programme.