Health and Family Welfare Minister Mohammed Nasim urged pharmaceutical companies to reduce the prices of drugs for the sake of common people of the country.
“I am requesting to the owners of the pharmaceutical companies to cut down the price of medicines so that people of middle income can afford the cost of drugs easily,” he said. He said this on Sunday while speaking as the chief guest at a seminar on the implication of observing World Population Day. Bangladesh University of Professionals (BUP) organised the event at Mirpur Cantonment in the city. “Currently, Bangladesh is exporting medicines to over 140 countries, including India, Sri Lanka, Germany, USA, France, Italy, UK, Canada, The Netherlands and Denmark for the good quality of our drugs,” Nasim said. “Once Bangladesh used to import most of the drugs the country needed, but things have changed over the last two decades,” he added.
Country Director of Population Council, Bangladesh Dr Ubaidur Rob presented the keynote paper while BUP Vice Chancellor Major General Md Salahuddin Miaji and representative of UNFPA Bangladesh Iori Kato were present at the programme.
About the Rohingya crisis, Nasim also the Presidium member of Awami League, said, “Myanmar have a barbaric government which is killing its own people…but we are proud to have a courageous leader like Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who, with her people giving shelter to Rohingyas.” The World Population Day-2017 was observed on July 11across the country with a call to develop the nation by family planning and empowering people with the theme, ‘Family Planning: Empowering People, Developing Nations.’
