Health Services Division
Profile
- Head
- Md Kamruzzaman Chowdhury
- Role
- Secretary
- Annual budget
- ৳314,160,000,000
- Staff
- —
- Established
- 2017
- Legal basis
- Cabinet Division allocation order dated 16 March 2017, bifurcating the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare into the Health Services Division and the Medical Education and Family Welfare Division; Rules of Business 1996 (Schedule I).
Managing simultaneous crises: a nationwide measles outbreak (55,611 suspected cases, 377 suspected deaths as of 15 May 2026) with a nationwide emergency MR vaccination campaign, and a systemic EPI vaccine shortage spanning 10 diseases with zero central warehouse stock for six vaccines. Simultaneously advancing service delivery reform: e-Health Card launch targeted for June 2026 and implementing 23 of the Health Sector Reform Commission's 33 selected recommendations.
Recent activity
- 2026-03-03 appointment Md Kamruzzaman Chowdhury appointed Secretary of Health Services Division on a one-year contractual basis under Section 49 of the Government Service Act 2018, one of four secretaries appointed by the BNP government on contract that day. ↗↗
- 2026-03-11 reform Health Minister announced the national e-Health Card (e-Health ID) is expected to launch by June 2026; HSD is collaborating with the a2i programme of the ICT Division and the Asian Development Bank on the Shared Health Record architecture and API interoperability framework. ↗↗↗
- 2026-03-30 statement Secretary Kamruzzaman Chowdhury publicly disclosed that Bangladesh faces vaccine shortages for at least 10 diseases; central warehouse stocks of BCG, pentavalent, bOPV, PCV, MR, and Td vaccines had fallen to zero, with IPV and TCV expected to last only until June 2026. ↗↗
- 2026-04-05 policy HSD (through DGHS EPI) launched an emergency measles-rubella vaccination campaign targeting children aged 6 months to 5 years in 30 upazilas of 18 priority districts, approved by NITAG on 30 March 2026; target coverage: 1.2 million children. ↗↗
- 2026-04-20 policy Emergency measles-rubella campaign expanded nationwide to all districts and City Corporation areas beyond the initial 30 upazilas; WHO outbreak-setting guidelines applied, lowering minimum vaccination age to 6 months. ↗↗
- 2026-05-09 statement Secretary Kamruzzaman Chowdhury confirmed investigations are underway into the causes of the measles outbreak and deaths; stated the government bears responsibility for every death and probe results will be made public; DGHS cumulative measles figures as of 15 May: 55,611 suspected cases, 7,416 confirmed, 377 suspected deaths, 74 confirmed deaths. ↗↗↗
- 2026-05-07 other DGHS dengue dashboard (Week 18) recorded 2,613 cumulative dengue cases and 4 deaths for 2026 year-to-date; HSD maintaining active vector surveillance and hospital bed availability tracking via dedicated online dashboard. ↗↗
Provenance & notes
Health Services Division established 16 March 2017 via Cabinet Division allocation order bifurcating MoHFW; confirmed by Wikipedia and MoHFW own records. Secretary Md Kamruzzaman Chowdhury appointed 3 March 2026 on one-year contract (Government Service Act 2018, Section 49); confirmed by TBS News and BSS News. Budget figure Tk 31,416 crore (Tk 20,392 crore operating + Tk 11,024 crore development) is HSD's own demand as reported in CPD health budget analysis; ADP component Tk 11,617.17 crore is the approved figure per CPD. The Tk 604 crore measles vaccine procurement was authorised by MoHFW, not HSD independently, and is recorded in the parent ministry's budget actions. Dengue Week-18 figures (2,613 cumulative cases, 4 deaths as of 7 May 2026) sourced directly from DGHS dashboard and BeaconBio situational report. Measles outbreak cumulative statistics as of 15 May 2026 (55,611 suspected, 7,416 confirmed, 377 suspected deaths, 74 confirmed deaths) from DGHS via WHO DON-598 and Wikipedia outbreak article. Staff count not publicly disclosed in any available primary source. MoHFW overall FY2025-26 allocation is Tk 41,908 crore covering both HSD and the Medical Education and Family Welfare Division.
Sources
- https://hsd.gov.bd/
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Health_Services_Division
- https://www.tbsnews.net/bangladesh/government-appoints-four-secretaries-contract-1376616
- https://www.bssnews.net/news/365663
- https://www.dhakatribune.com/bangladesh/government-affairs/404643/govt-appoints-secretaries-to-four-ministries-divisions
- https://www.tbsnews.net/bangladesh/e-health-card-likely-launch-june-strengthen-healthcare-system-health-minister-1384416
- https://www.thedailystar.net/news/governance/news/e-health-card-what-it-and-how-will-it-benefit-you-4120806
- https://en.bd-pratidin.com/national/2026/03/11/58724
- https://www.tbsnews.net/bangladesh/health/bangladesh-faces-vaccine-shortage-10-diseases-health-secretary-1398836
- https://en.prothomalo.com/bangladesh/yqni6rdl84
- https://www.unicef.org/bangladesh/en/press-releases/bangladesh-launches-emergency-measles-rubella-campaign-unicef-who-and-gavi-protect
- https://www.who.int/bangladesh/news/detail/05-04-2026-bangladesh-launches-emergency-measles-rubella-campaign-with-unicef--who-and-gavi-to-protect-over-1.2-million-children
- https://www.unicef.org/media/179846/file/Bangladesh-Humanitarian-Situation-Report-No.1(Measles-Outbreak)-8-April-2026.pdf.pdf
- https://www.unicef.org/bangladesh/en/press-releases/protecting-every-child-nationwide-measles-rubella-vaccination-campaign-bangladesh
- https://www.who.int/emergencies/disease-outbreak-news/item/2026-DON598
- https://www.bssnews.net/others/385622
- https://www.tbsnews.net/bangladesh/health/investigation-underway-causes-behind-measles-outbreak-health-secretary-1434161
- https://www.thedailystar.net/news/governance/news/govt-launches-probe-measles-fatalities-health-secretary-4171351
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_Bangladesh_measles_outbreak
- https://dashboard.dghs.gov.bd/pages/heoc_dengue_v1.php
- https://denguereports.dghs.gov.bd/dengue/
- https://cpd.org.bd/resources/2025/08/Health-Budget-of-Bangladesh-Enhancing-Efficiency-for-Better-Health-Delivery.pdf
- https://www.tbsnews.net/economy/budget/fy26-budget-health-sector-gets-tk41908cr-1158031
- https://www.who.int/bangladesh/news/feature-stories/item/bangladesh-moves-forward-on-universal-health-coverage-who-hosts-technical-consultation-on-uhc-roadmap-2026-2035