Dr Zafrullah Chowdhury's 2nd death anniversary today

Today marks the second death anniversary of Dr Zafrullah Chowdhury, the valiant freedom fighter and founder of Gonoshasthaya Kendra.

He passed away on April 11, 2023, at the age of 81.

Following his death, he was laid to rest on the premises of Gonoshasthaya Kendra in Savar, the institution he dedicated his life to building.

Dr Zafrullah Chowdhury born on December 27, 1941, in Kayapara village of Raozan upazila in Chattogram. His father, Humayun Morshed Chowdhury was a police officer and mother, Hasina Begum Chowdhury, a homemaker. He completed his matriculation from Nabakumar Institution in Old Dhaka and later graduated from Dhaka College. In 1966, he earned his MBBS degree from Dhaka Medical College before going to London to pursue FRCS. However, when the Liberation War broke out in 1971, he left his studies and joined the war for independence.

A progressive thinker from his student days, he was elected General Secretary of the Dhaka Medical College Students' Union. During the Liberation War, while in London, Dr Zafrullah Chowdhury raised funds for the Mujibnagar government and worked to garner support for Bangladesh's cause among British politicians and the public. In a symbolic act of protest, he tore up his Pakistani passport during a march in London.

He later traveled to Agartala with Dr MA Mobin and helped set up a temporary field hospital in Melaghar, Tripura, under the command of Sector 2’s Major Khaled Mosharraf. There, he treated injured freedom fighters with medical supplies brought from London. Dr Zafrullah Chowdhury also trained over 100 women as nurses in a three-week crash course, enhancing the medical response during the war.

After independence, he founded Gonoshasthaya Kendra in Savar with the aim of ensuring affordable healthcare for the country’s underserved populations. Under his leadership, the institution introduced low-cost dialysis services and established a 100-bed facility dedicated to kidney patients.

Dr Zafrullah Chowdhury’s legacy continues to inspire generations in the fields of public health, social justice, and national service.