Health and Family Welfare Minister Sardar Md. Sakhawat Husain spoke today at the Jatiya Sangsad (JS) session. Photo: Video Screenshot

SANGSAD BHABAN, June 10, 2026 (BSS) - Health and Family Welfare Minister 
Sardar Md. Sakhawat Husain today assured parliament that there would be no 
shortage of Anti-Rabies vaccines anywhere in the country, saying the 
government has maintained stocks at multiple levels to ensure uninterrupted 
supply.

Replying to supplementary question from opposition lawmaker (Bangladesh 
Jamaat-e-Islami) Mohammad Zahirul Islam (Chattogram-16) in the Jatiya Sangsad 
(JS), the minister said people exposed to rabies animal bites require a 
series of four vaccine doses over an 18-day period and the government has 
taken comprehensive measures to guarantee availability of the life-saving 
vaccines.

"We have already kept vaccine stocks at three tiers across the country. 
Adequate quantities are available at the upazila level, while anti-rabies 
immunoglobulin has been stocked at district hospitals," he said.

The minister said if vaccine stocks run out in any upazila due to an 
unexpected surge in demand, supplies would immediately be collected from 
neighboring upazilas.
 
If necessary, district authorities would provide additional doses, and deputy 
commissioners have been instructed to procure vaccines on an emergency basis 
until central supplies arrive, he added.

"We have maintained reserves at four levels. I want to assure the honourable 
member that, by the grace of Almighty Allah, there will be no shortage of 
vaccines during the coming season despite any increase in demand," he told 
the House.

Responding to another supplementary question on healthcare services, Sakhawat 
Husain said the government has undertaken a series of initiatives to expand 
healthcare facilities and bring services closer to people.

He said the government has decided to upgrade 50-bed and 100-bed hospitals 
across the country with improved manpower, equipment, ICU facilities and 
other modern healthcare services.

The minister also informed that five children's hospitals in Rajshahi, 
Rangpur, Barishal, Cumilla and another divisional city would be upgraded to 
200-bed facilities within the next six months.

In addition, he said work on a cancer hospital is progressing rapidly, with 
installation of machinery completed and furniture procurement already under 
process.

Highlighting the government's grassroots healthcare strategy, the minister 
said some 100,000 health workers would be recruited nationwide, with 80 
percent of the positions reserved for women, to ensure healthcare services 
reach people at the village level.

He also acknowledged that some hospitals are facing medicine shortages due to 
increased patient loads and bed-capacity expansions that were not matched by 
corresponding increases in allocations during previous administrations. 

"The government is now taking steps to revise allocations and improve routine 
healthcare services," he continued.

Earlier, replying to a starred question from opposition lawmaker Mohammad 
Zahirul Islam (Chattogram-16), Sakhawat Husain said the government has 
already supplied 139,675 vials of anti-rabies vaccine nationwide.

He said the supplied quantity is equivalent to 558,700 doses of vaccine, 
calculated at four doses per vial.

The minister further told the House that the supply of anti-rabies vaccines 
is continuing across the country to ensure treatment for dog-bite victims and 
prevent rabies-related deaths.

He reaffirmed the government's commitment to maintaining an uninterrupted 
supply of the life-saving vaccine at public health facilities nationwide.