Ministry of Health and Family Welfare
Profile
- Head
- Sardar Md. Sakhawat Husain
- Role
- Minister
- Annual budget
- ৳419,080,000,000
- Staff
- —
- Established
- 1971
- Legal basis
- Established under the provisional Mujibnagar Government (10 April 1971); current two-division structure formalised by Cabinet Division allocation orders; Health Services Division bifurcated on 16 March 2017.
Leading dual-front crisis response: measles outbreak (55,611 suspected cases as of 15 May) with nationwide emergency vaccination campaign and Tk 604 crore vaccine procurement, while simultaneously pushing hospital-management reform including mandatory doctor attendance enforcement and anti-syndicate drive.
Recent activity
- 2026-02-17 appointment Sardar Md. Sakhawat Husain (BNP, Narsingdi-4 MP) sworn in as Minister of Health and Family Welfare in the Tarique Rahman-led BNP cabinet. ↗↗
- 2026-02-20 reform Minister pledged to ensure doctors attend duty posts within 30 days, announced surprise hospital inspections, and vowed to dismantle procurement syndicates. ↗↗
- 2026-04-05 policy MoHFW launched emergency measles-rubella vaccination campaign targeting children aged 6 months to 5 years in 30 hotspot upazilas across 20 districts following outbreak that began mid-March 2026. ↗↗
- 2026-04-20 policy Emergency measles-rubella campaign expanded nationwide to all remaining districts; minimum vaccination age lowered to six months per WHO outbreak-setting guidelines. ↗↗
- 2026-03-29 procurement Minister announced Tk 604 crore payment to UNICEF for emergency measles-rubella vaccine procurement to address nationwide stockout that had persisted since 2024-25. ↗
- 2026-05-07 statement DGHS dashboard (week 18) recorded 113 dengue cases and 4 dengue deaths; ministry maintaining active vector surveillance and hospital bed availability tracking via dedicated dengue dashboard. ↗
- 2026-05-03 other As of 15 May 2026, cumulative measles outbreak figures: 55,611 suspected cases, 7,416 confirmed cases, 377 deaths with suspected measles symptoms, 74 confirmed measles deaths (DGHS data). ↗↗
Provenance & notes
Budget figure Tk 41,908 crore cross-checked across BSS, TBS, and Daily Sun; minister appointment date 2026-02-17 confirmed by TBS and Daily Star BNP cabinet coverage. Measles outbreak statistics (55,611 suspected cases, 377 suspected deaths, 74 confirmed deaths as of 15 May 2026) sourced from DGHS via WHO DON and Wikipedia outbreak article; WHO DON issued 2026-DON598. Dengue week-18 figures from DGHS live dashboard. Ministry established 1971 (Mujibnagar Government); Health Services Division formally bifurcated 16 March 2017 per Wikipedia. Staff count not publicly disclosed in available primary sources -- field left null. MoHFW has two divisions: Health Services Division and Medical Education and Family Welfare Division.
Sources
- https://mohfw.gov.bd/
- https://www.bssnews.net/news/362114
- https://www.thedailystar.net/news/bangladesh/governance/news/doctors-attendance-be-ensured-30-days-says-health-minister-sakhawat-4109046
- https://www.tbsnews.net/bangladesh/see-who-will-become-next-ministers-state-ministers-1363801
- https://www.thedailystar.net/news/bangladesh/governance/news/who-gets-which-ministry-inside-bnps-cabinet-line-4108521
- https://www.tbsnews.net/economy/budget/fy26-budget-health-sector-gets-tk41908cr-1158031
- https://www.bssnews.net/national-budget-2025-2026/279331
- https://banglamirrornews.com/2026/03/29/govt-allocates-tk604-crore-to-procure-measles-vaccine-health-minister/
- https://www.unicef.org/bangladesh/en/press-releases/bangladesh-launches-emergency-measles-rubella-campaign-unicef-who-and-gavi-protect
- https://www.who.int/emergencies/disease-outbreak-news/item/2026-DON598
- https://www.who.int/bangladesh/news/feature-stories/item/a-nation-s-response--a-mother-s-relief--bangladesh-steps-up-emergency-measles-vaccination
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_Bangladesh_measles_outbreak
- https://dashboard.dghs.gov.bd/pages/heoc_dengue_v1.php
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ministry_of_Health_and_Family_Welfare_(Bangladesh)
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sardar_Md._Sakhawat_Husain