That a government project to expand affordable dialysis services has been delayed for the second time, prolonging the suffering of thousands of kidney patients, is indeed frustrating. Per a report in this daily, there are around 3.8 crore kidney patients in Bangladesh, including around two crore with CKD, with nearly 30,000-40,000 more developing kidney failure every year. So, the expansion of dialysis facilities, an initiative that can be instrumental in saving lives, cannot afford repeated delays.
The project, originally estimated to cost around Tk 255 crore, was scheduled to be completed by December 2022, aiming to upgrade dialysis centres at 15 medical college hospitals to 50-bed facilities and establish 10-bed centres at 44 district hospitals. However, after an initial extension to June 2025 and now to December 2027, the project cost has increased to Tk 375.47 crore. We understand that one of the initial setbacks for the project was brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic. However, the continued delays point to an all-too-familiar cycle of project delays in the country that stem from administrative lethargy and result in increased cost and, in dire cases, human suffering, which seems to be the case for this particular project.
Bangladesh currently has just 234 dialysis centres that can serve around 12,000-15,000 patients. Only 25 government hospitals offer dialysis on a limited scale at Tk 400 per session. Meanwhile, the charge per session at many private facilities varies between Tk 3,000 and Tk 10,000, an amount out of reach for the majority of the population. As a result, more than 80 percent of the kidney patients reportedly go without treatment. This is as alarming as it is unacceptable.
As per the report, the Public Works Department has so far completed nearly 70 percent of the physical work of the project, which includes renovating the designated spaces for dialysis services at the selected hospitals. However, the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), which is implementing the project, says procurement has been delayed twice so far as the tenders have been cancelled twice. We urge the government to look into the processes resulting in the delays and ensure timely procurement, installation, and operationalisation of these facilities. The authorities must also be aware not to let these facilities gather dust once they are functional, due to governance failure and manpower deficit, as happens to be the fate of many public healthcare establishments in the country.
