Tk 40,000 crore lost from budget due to Middle East war: Finance Minister

The ongoing war in the Middle East has put significant pressure on Bangladesh's budget, Finance and Planning Minister Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury has said. Approximately 4 billion US dollars, equivalent to around Tk 40,000 crore in local currency, has been lost from the budget due to the impact of the war.

The minister was speaking as the chief guest at the foundation stone laying ceremony of a new building at Chattogram Mother and Child Medical College Hospital on Saturday, May 16.

The current government is trying to rescue the country from a negative economic situation, the minister said. The previous government left behind a massive amount of arrears, particularly in the power and energy sectors, leaving without paying nearly Tk 50,000 crore.

"What we have received from previous governments is minus, minus, minus. There is nothing positive, everything is negative," he said.

Regarding healthcare, the finance minister said the government is taking initiatives to coordinate with private hospitals to ensure treatment for the poor. Due to limitations of government hospitals, destitute patients will be sent to private hospitals, and the government will bear the cost of treatment.

Allocation for the health sector will be significantly increased in the upcoming budget, he said. The government wants to establish healthcare as a fundamental right of citizens.

Universal, preventive and primary healthcare is the right of every citizen, and the government wants to take that service to a higher level, Amir Khasru said.

Noting that the economy will need more time to recover, he said at least two years will be required for economic recovery.

The event was presided over by hospital management committee president S M Morshed Hossain. Also speaking were medical college principal Asim Barua, committee vice-president Abdul Mannan Rana and general secretary Rezaul Karim Azad.