Political witch hunt hits Bangladesh’s healthcare sector

New Delhi, June 28 (IANS) Recent administrative changes and political transitions in Bangladesh’s medical sector have affected several of the country’s famous doctors, raising questions about institutional continuity, human rights, and the future of public health, according to an article in the Bangladeshi media.

The article in the Dhaka-based news agency Pressenza highlights that when political alignment becomes the primary lens through which professional merit and decades of service are evaluated, the entire knowledge ecosystem of a developing nation faces severe disruption. The shifting administrative landscape in Bangladesh has directly impacted several senior physicians whose clinical work, teaching, and institutional leadership helped shape modern medical practice in the country, it said.

These include Dr Samanta Lal Sen, who is widely regarded as the architect of modern plastic surgery and specialised burn care in Bangladesh. Having served as a technocrat Health Minister during the previous administration, he was later detained in a legal case that his supporters describe as politically motivated. He subsequently left the country, leaving a noticeable gap in specialised medical leadership

Then there is Prof Dr Pran Gopal Dutta, an eminent ear, nose, and throat (ENT) specialist and former Vice-Chancellor of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU), who received the country’s highest civilian honour, the Independence Award, in 2012 for his contributions to medical science. Currently residing outside Bangladesh due to legal proceedings tied to his tenure as a former Member of Parliament, he is reported to be teaching at a medical college in India’s Tripura, while continuing to provide care to underserved border communities.

Prof Dr Deen Mohammad, a senior neurologist and former Principal of Dhaka Medical College, was the founding Director of the National Institute of Neurosciences & Hospital- a specialised facility he actively helped establish. He was recently removed from his post, a decision that those close to him attribute to his perceived affiliations with pro-Awami League medical associations.

Prof. Dr ABM Abdullah, a leading internal medicine specialist and former Dean of the Faculty of Medicine at BSMMU, is well-known across the country for charging a nominal fee of just Tk 300 to ensure lower-income patients could access top-tier care. Awarded the Ekushey Padak for his humanitarian services, he also served as the personal physician to the former Prime Minister. Recently, the authorities cancelled his lifetime appointment as ‘Emeritus Professor’ and requested the return of the salaries and allowances received during his tenure in that role.

The article points out that universal humanism asserts that healthcare, education, and science should remain independent of partisan shifts, serving as shared assets for the collective good. Medical expertise cannot be generated overnight; it requires decades of rigorous training, mentorship, and extensive institutional support. When senior clinicians are abruptly removed or compelled to leave the system, the generational transmission of clinical knowledge to young medical professionals is broken.

This lack of institutional stability and merit-based security has accelerated an ongoing crisis: the migration of skilled professionals abroad or ‘brain drain’. Each year, thousands of talented students and young doctors leave Bangladesh for higher education and professional opportunities overseas, citing the need for structural stability and genuine recognition of merit. For a developing country of 180 million, this outflow of talent represents a profound, long-term setback to public health capacity, the article added.

–IANS

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