Dr Zubaida Rahman has called for stronger international partnerships and innovative financing to transform women’s healthcare in Bangladesh, saying traditional development assistance alone cannot meet the country’s growing healthcare needs.
“Traditional development assistance alone cannot meet the healthcare demands of our growing population. Innovative financing combined with national commitment, concessional investment, grant-supported technical assistance and sustainable domestic resources are needed,” she said.
She made the remarks at a high-level session titled “The Moment is Now: Unlocking New Capital for Women’s Health Beyond Aid” at the World Health Summit in Berlin on Sunday.
Dr Zubaida, vice-president of the Ziaur Rahman Foundation and wife of Prime Minister Tarique Rahman, urged international partners, development finance institutions, philanthropic organisations and the private sector to join Bangladesh in strengthening women’s healthcare.
“Our country will, Insha’Allah, demonstrate how political commitment, innovative financing and international partnerships can transform women’s health,” she said.
She called for a shift from fragmented projects to stronger health systems, short-term aid to sustainable investment, and political commitments to measurable results.
Describing women’s health as an investment in human capital, economic prosperity and the future of nations, she noted that women account for nearly 51 percent of Bangladesh’s population.
Dr Zubaida said the government, under the leadership of Prime Minister Tarique Rahman, was committed to expanding investment beyond maternal care to address adolescent anaemia, maternal malnutrition, preventable maternal and newborn deaths, and cancers affecting women.
She added that broader government initiatives, including Family Cards, Farmer Cards and free education up to graduation level, were also creating opportunities for women and girls.
Highlighting plans to strengthen maternal and newborn healthcare, she said the government intended to recruit 100,000 community and well-being workers, nearly 80 percent of them women, alongside 25,000 additional professional midwives.
The initiatives aim to promote safe normal childbirth, reduce unnecessary medical interventions and ensure that women receive skilled and compassionate maternity care.
“No woman in any corner of Bangladesh should need to travel beyond her upazila health complexes, sub-district tier, or district hospitals to receive comprehensive essential maternal and newborn healthcare,” she said.
She stressed that a woman’s survival during childbirth should never depend on her ability to travel to Dhaka or afford expensive private treatment, describing equitable access to care as a matter of dignity and social justice.
Dr Zubaida also highlighted the contributions of Shaheed President Ziaur Rahman and former Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia to rural development, family planning, girls’ education and women’s empowerment.
She said Ziaur Rahman’s emphasis on rural development, community participation and family planning had helped lay the foundations for social development, while Khaleda Zia’s initiatives to expand girls’ education, particularly secondary-school stipends, had created opportunities for generations of young women.
