Every year, approximately 482,000 Bangladeshis cross into India seeking medical treatment. Several hundred thousand more travel to Thailand, Singapore, and Malaysia. Medical tourism outflows total US$4 to US$5 billion annually, with cancer treatment representing a substantial portion. Families liquidate agricultural land, exhaust savings, and accept loans from private lenders at rates formal banks would never propose.
A cancer diagnosis in Bangladesh is a financial death sentence before it becomes a medical one. The Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies calculates the average treatment cost at Taka 547,840, roughly US$5,000 to US$6,000. When diagnostic tests, surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and accommodation are included, costs climb to Taka 639,000 or US$6,000 to US$7,000 per patient. A single PET-CT scan at private facilities costs Taka 65,000 to 70,000 (approximately US$700 to US$800). Government hospitals offer cheaper alternatives, but waiting periods stretch for months.
The infrastructure deficit: Professor Dr Syed Md Akram Hussain, an oncologist and member of the Bangladesh Health Reform Commission, believes cancer has already reached crisis levels in Bangladesh. According to him, around 300,000 people are newly diagnosed with cancer every year, and about 150,000 die from the disease annually. These numbers, Professor Hussain said, show that cancer is no longer a future threat but a present emergency.
The official statistics always undercount the crisis. While some reports cite 150,000 to 170,000 annual diagnoses, Professor Hussain's clinical observations suggest the reality is far worse. Deaths approach 150,000 annually, translating to over 400 daily. Among men, lung cancer and cancers of the mouth and throat dominate. Among women, cervical and breast cancers occur most frequently.
He explained that several factors drive the high cancer burden. Smoking remains the leading cause and continues widespread. Another major factor is unsafe food. Food quality has declined, especially fast food, which may contain harmful substances such as chromium due to poor processing and regulation. Long-term exposure to these substances increases cancer risk.
Environmental and industrial pollution also play a major role. Professor Hussain pointed to industries such as textiles and ship-breaking, where workers are exposed to hazardous materials like asbestos, a known cause of cancer. Although regulations exist, he said enforcement remains weak. Workers in textile factories handle chemical dyes and tannery employees work with toxic chemicals. Many are exposed without proper safety measures, increasing their chances of developing cancer.
He also highlighted air pollution as a serious concern. Air quality in Bangladesh is extremely poor, with dangerously high levels of pollutants such as Sulphur dioxide and lead, both of which increase cancer risk over time. Dhaka's air quality ranks among the world's worst. These pollutants accumulate over years until cellular damage becomes irreversible.
Against this disease burden, Bangladesh operates 19 hospitals providing regular cancer treatment. There are about 150 qualified clinical oncologists and 16 paediatric oncologists serving a population where approximately 1.3 to 1.5 million people live with cancer. For radiation therapy, the nation has 15 linear accelerators, 12 cobalt-60 teletherapy units, and 12 brachytherapy machines. According to International Atomic Energy Agency standards, Bangladesh requires approximately 300 teletherapy machines. Current capacity meets roughly 9 percent of this requirement.
Most cancer facilities concentrate in Dhaka, forcing patients from peripheral districts to travel hundreds of kilometres. Transport costs, urban accommodation, and lost wages drain resources that could fund actual treatment. India captures more than half of Bangladesh's medical tourism outflows with comprehensive networks across Chennai, Kolkata, and Bangalore.
The medical tourism paradox: Experts warn that weak cancer care has serious economic consequences. Around US$6 billion leaves Bangladesh every year as patients travel abroad for medical treatment. This money could construct multiple world-class cancer centres domestically. A comprehensive cancer hospital requires capital investment of approximately US$50 to US$100 million. Bangladesh could establish eight divisional centres for less than what it loses in two years.
Domestic infrastructure creates employment and benefits foreign exchange reserves. Patient outcomes would improve, as medical tourism adds stress through unfamiliar environments, language barriers, and separation from family.
The pharmaceutical access crisis: Bangladesh imports more than 85 percent of active pharmaceutical ingredients at US$1.3 billion annually. However, the sector produces over 450 generic drugs across 5,300 registered brands. As a least developed country, Bangladesh enjoys patent waivers under WTO TRIPS agreements until 2033. The government has established an Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient Park in Munshiganj that could reduce raw material import costs by 70 percent when operational. Treatment completion rates would improve if costs declined; currently, many patients commence chemotherapy but cannot afford full cycles.
The universal health coverage solution: Health economists argue that strategic investment in cancer infrastructure combined with pharmaceutical self-reliance and universal health coverage is sound economic planning, not merely humanitarian policy. Out-of-pocket health expenditure triggers what economists' term "catastrophic health expenditure." Research shows families selling land, taking high-interest loans, withdrawing children from school, or abandoning treatment.
When asked what Bangladesh can do to improve cancer treatment, Professor Hussain said prevention and financial protection must go hand in hand. As a member of the Health Reform Commission, he said the commission has already submitted several proposals to the government.
One major recommendation is the introduction of a social health insurance scheme. Under this system, cancer patients could receive government support or low-interest loans to help pay for treatment. Thiswould protect families from financial collapse.
The commission has also proposed government subsidies for hospitals that provide cancer treatment, so services can be expanded and costs reduced. Another key demand is the removal of VAT on cancer treatment. Professor Hussain questioned the logic of taxing life-saving medical care, calling it an unnecessary burden on patients.
Universal health coverage would pool risk, preventing individual financial catastrophe. Insurance mechanisms would spread costs and enable earlier intervention. Earlier treatment improves survival rates and reduces overall costs, since late-stage cancer requires more intensive intervention.
Professor Hussain also pointed to a deep social impact. According to him, around 0.3 percent of Bangladesh's population falls below the poverty line every year because families are forced to sell assets to pay for cancer treatment. This represents roughly 400,000 people pushed into destitution annually by a disease that could have been prevented or treated affordably with proper infrastructure.
Current government health expenditure totals approximately US$3.38 billion annually. Medical tourism outflows approach US$6 billion, exceeding the entire health budget. Money spent at foreign hospitals generates employment and tax revenue abroad while Bangladesh's own healthcare infrastructure remains underfunded.
Redirecting even a fraction into domestic infrastructure would generate returns through improved outcomes, reduced productivity losses, and economic multiplier effects. When economically productive individuals die from treatable cancers, the economy loses not just current output but years of future productivity.
Concrete steps forward: The health ministry met with hospital representatives in December 2024 to address gaps. The Super Specialised Hospital operates at approximately 10 percent capacity with 60 patients in a 700-bed facility. Tax policy requires adjustment: cancer equipment, diagnostic machinery, and chemotherapy drugs should receive duty-free status. Training programmes for oncology professionals need expansion in medical physics, specialised nursing, radiation technology, and oncology fellowships.
Professor Hussain stressed the urgent need for a national cancer registry. He said Bangladesh must establish a centralised registry with two components: a hospital-based registry where all hospitals record cancer cases and transmit data to a central government database, and a population-based registry where surveys capture cases that never reach hospitals. Together, Professor Hussain explained, these systems would give Bangladesh a clear picture of the true cancer burden and allow policymakers to plan properly. Without reliable data, he warned, cancer remains invisible at the policy level and invisible problems are rarely solved.
Public awareness campaigns about early detection require sustained funding. The private sector could fund screening camps and treatment subsidies through corporate social responsibility. Political commitment remains the decisive variable; cancer control plans exist but implementation is missing.
The choice: Every year, Bangladesh loses lives that could have been saved, weakens families financially, and spends billions abroad. The question is whether the country will continue externalising treatment or build systems providing timely, affordable care at home.
The actual cost is already being paid: by families that sell land, by foreign reserves bleeding outward, by lost productivity. The choice is where Bangladesh directs investment: into foreign hospitals profiting from Bangladeshi patients, or into domestic infrastructure creating jobs, retaining capital, and treating citizens in their own communities.
Economic imperatives and humanitarian goals align. Building comprehensive cancer care is investment in human capital, foreign exchange conservation, and economic multiplier effects. The foundations exist: trained clinicians, pharmaceutical capability, policy frameworks, urgent need. What is required now is execution.
samiulhaquesami366@gmail.com
© 2026 - All Rights with The Financial Express
