The political intervention in the medical education and health system, particularly in tertiary treatment, in Bangladesh stands in the way of improving health services in Bangladesh that in turn is encouraging a section of well-off and even some critically patients to seek treatment in neighbouring countries,Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia, said top leading physicians and professionals.

Though reliable and correct statistics are not available, unofficial statistics reveal that Bangladeshi patients spend 3/4 billion US dollars in Indian medical hospitals and some corporate hospitals.

The number of Pakistani patients seeking treatment in India is very nominal compared to the number of Bangladeshi patients seeking treatment in India, according to available statistics.

A former director and professor of the National Institute of Cardiology and Vascular Diseases (NICVD) said that India and Pakistan have progressed well ahead of Bangladesh in improving medical education as politicians of both countries have not used medical students and teachers in their narrow political interest.

He said a section of physicians and doctors in Bangladesh maintain connection with political parties overlooking their main responsibilities of medical education and health service.

He said that heart treatment in Bangladesh has progressed well, bit politicization of the health system is still bad to the desired level of the development in the country.

He said the Pakistan military never intervened in the medical education and health system that helped them improve the health service in that country.

He said the USA has the best health system with the best physicians, nurses and technicians   in the world. He said some 20-25 per cent Indian-American, 9-10 per cent Pakistani –American and 0.2 per cent Bangladeshi-American are contributing to the health system of USA.    

The major political parties in Bangladesh—Bangladesh Awami League and Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) -- that ruled the country most of the time since independence used the Swadhinata Chikitshak Parishad (SWACHIP) Doctors Association of Bangladesh (DAB) to gain their political purpose costing the interest of the country, said a physician of the Dhaka Medical College and Hospital.

Doctors Association of Bangladesh (DAB) is an organization of pro- Bangladesh Nationalist Party doctors of Bangladesh and Swadhinata Chikitshak Parishad (SWACHIP) is an organisation of pro-Awami League doctors of Bangladesh.

The interim government of Professor Dr Mohammed Yunus has been in a catch -22 situation to improve the education system in Bangladesh.

The improvement in the medical education system is not a priority of the present interim government as Sheikh Hasina -- the brutal dictator and last Prime Minister of Bangladesh, who ruled Bangladesh for 15-year plus-- had intervened in the health service.

The political culture of intervening into the health system should be reduced in phases in the greater interest of improving medical education and health services in Bangladesh, said a professor of National Institute of Ophthalmology and Hospital (NIOH)

Doctors Association of Bangladesh (DAB) is an organization of pro- Bangladesh Nationalist Party doctors of Bangladesh and Swadhinata Chikitshak Parishad (SWACHIP) is an organisation of pro-Awami League doctors of Bangladesh

Meanwhile, since the ouster of dictator Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on August 5, 2024, Indians have been in deep shock with the Dhaka–New Delhi relations show no sign of improvement and HCI restricting issuing visas to Bangladeshis on national security grounds, sources said.

Spokesperson of India's foreign ministry Randhir Jaiswal  responding to a question of an Indian  reporter said the High commission of India in Bangladesh will start issuing visas at normal speed after law and order situation improves in Bangladesh and conducive situations prevail.

On the matter of visas for Bangladeshis, Jaiswal said limited visa operations were on, with medical and emergency visas being given.

"When the law and order improves [in Bangladesh] and the situation becomes conducive for full visa operations, we will do that," he said.

Jaiswal, also, called upon the interim government to ensure that assurances given over the protection of minorities be implemented so that "people can feel safe".

Former Regional Adviser to World Health Organization (WHO) Muzaherul Huq while talking to this correspondent said that Bangladesh can develop medical tourism targeting citizens of North-east India and Nepal.

Bangladesh can replicate the model of medical tourism like countries of India, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore in the mid-and long-term by ensuring some steps like improvement in nursing, extensive, rigorous and higher hands-on training of doctors, good behavior of the persons engaged in health services and better hospital services, opined experts.

But, Muzaherul Huq, also former senior adviser to the World Federation for Medical Education, said Bangladesh will have to set up international standard hospitals in Cox’s Bazar and Chittagong to help boost medical tourism…

The people of Seven Sisters of India, which include Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Meghalaya, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland, and Tripura, will visit Bangladesh and avail of the treatment in Bangladesh.

Muzaherul Huq, however, said that Bangladesh will have to ensure an international standard quality health system and service to patients.

Huq said Bangladeshi patients usually go to Chennai, Valore, Kolkata, Bangalore and New Delhi to avail themselves of better treatment.

Huq who worked in Kathmandu during his medical career said that Nepal has improved medical tourism in recent years targeting Indian tourism.

He said “Bangladesh has the largest sea beach in Cox’s Bazar. Patients will come to get treatment and see the beauty of the beach. Against this backdrop, Bangladesh will have to improve local and tourism and health systems.”

Meanwhile, though Bangladeshis spend several billion US dollars every year on treatment abroad, the central bank statistics show peanuts of that medical tourism, according to economists, policy-makers, bankers and physicians.

The banking and income tax systems of the country need an overhaul to help estimate the cost of medical tourism abroad,  said a former member of National Board of Revenue (NBR) while talking to The Dazzling Dawn recently.

Md Serajul Islam, former Executive Director of Bangladesh Bank, while talking to the daily said Bangladeshis abroad spent 2.2 million US dollar in 2018-19 fiscal year, 1.6 million US dollars in 2019-20, 1.6 million US dollars in 2020-21 fiscal and 05.0 million US dollars during the July-September period of the current fiscal year while taking treatment abroad.

The treatment cost in Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia are 4/5 times higher than it is in Bangladesh. Even treatment costs in major Indian cities like Mumbai, New Delhi, Hyderabad and Chennai are also expensive.

Dr Syed Abdul Hamid, a professor at the Institute of Health Economics of the University of Dhaka, while talking to The Dhaka Tribune, said that data of Bangladesh Bank on treatment cost abroad is very low compared to the patients and their relatives spend in reality.

Dr Syed Abdul Hamid said that Bangladesh Bank and National Board of Revenue (NBR) can estimate the cost of medical tourism abroad, provided some steps are taken by authorities concerned of the government.

“Foreign missions in Dhaka can provide data on medical visas to authorities concerned of Bangladesh that, in turn, can help prepare a sound paper on medical tourism abroad, " said Dr Syed Abdul Hamid.

Mahbub Ahmed, a former secretary of the Bangladesh government, while this correspondent said that Bangladesh Bank, National Board of Revenue (NBR), commercial banks, BIDS, Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS)  and research institutes can do work on medical tourism abroad

Meanwhile, with the economy growing substantially over the last 20 years, Bangladesh-- a new economic power in South Asia and a member of the middle-income group--- has become a major contributor to the Thai health system, according to sources.  

Bangladesh is now the 41st largest economy in the world, according to new data of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Bangladesh and India are the only two South Asian countries considered to be part of the 50 largest economies of the world.

The data can be seen in a visualized statistic published by the Visual Capitalist with data from the IMF, the 50 largest economies were responsible for the $100 trillion world economy.

Bangladeshi citizens, availing themselves of better medical treatment, spent some 6.7 billion Thai baht to the economy of Thailand in 2019.  According to sources of Ministries of Tourism and Sports, about 4,300 Bangladeshis got medical visas in 2019 and spent the money, said a Thai diplomat while talking to this correspondent recently.      

According to sources, 85 percent of total outbound Bangladeshi patients get treatment in India, some 10 per cent in Thailand and the rest in Singapore, Malaysia, the UK, USA and China, sources said.       

According to the Thai immigration, a total of 1,39,622 Bangladeshi tourists visited Thailand, a total of  21,817 Bangladeshis in 2020, 1,955 Bangladeshis in 2021 and during January-June period of 2022, a total of 6,319 Bangladeshis visited Thailand. The outbreak of the COVID-19 restricted movement of travelers across the globe during 2020, 2021 and in the early 2022.  From April 2022, South Asian countries opened their countries to global tourists.  Against this backdrop, the number of Bangladeshi tourists dropped in 2020 and 2021 and started picking up this year slightly.               

Meanwhile, Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-o-cha said recently that Thailand aims to attract more foreign visitors in the COVID-19 period by promoting itself as a medical tourism hub, building on its good track record of handling the pandemic, according to Bloomberg, a leading US newspaper.

A virus task force headed by Mr Prayuth also considered demands for the reopening of bars, pubs and other nightlife entertainment venues that have been closed for more than a year to tourist arrivals.

The June–September period, considered the low season for Thai tourism, is seen as the key to lifting restrictions to attract more visitors.

Thailand expects tourist numbers to more than triple to nearly 1 million per month from October as the nation lifts most of the pandemic-era travel restrictions.

The reopening of pubs, bars and other nightlife entertainment venues in some provinces could boost tourism and help the millions of people who depend on this type of business for a livelihood, said Supot Malaniyom, Secretary-General of the National Security Council .