AI Apps to Power Community Health

The government plans to equip one lakh new ‘Community Health and Wellbeing’ workers with modern diagnostic kits and artificial intelligence (AI)-powered digital apps to provide basic health screening and advice through home visits. The technology-driven initiative is part of a broader plan to bring urban healthcare into the mainstream national health system.

State Minister for Health Dr M A Muhit announced the plan on Tuesday, September 15, 2026, while addressing a national consultation on sustainable sexual and reproductive health and rights at the CIRDAP auditorium in Dhaka.

He said the government has decided to integrate urban healthcare into the national health system in response to the country’s rapid urbanisation. Work is underway to bring urban healthcare under the core framework of the Ministry of Health and build a comprehensive and sustainable service structure.

Dr Muhit said less than 10 percent of Bangladesh’s population lived in urban areas after independence, when the health system primarily focused on rural communities. Around 30 percent of the population now lives in urban areas, and the share is expected to reach 50 percent by 2050.

“ We are not building a health system only for today; we are also thinking about the future. Therefore, the decision to give the highest priority to urban healthcare and bring it into the mainstream government health system has been taken based on reality,” he said.

The state minister said urban healthcare has so far been delivered mainly through city corporations, municipalities and non-governmental organisations. Considering the flexibility and positive aspects of the existing system, the government is now developing a comprehensive and sustainable framework under its own structure.

Under the proposed framework, the Directorate General of Health Services and the Directorate General of Family Planning will jointly play roles in managing urban healthcare. The Directorate General of Family Planning will have a particularly important role in sexual and reproductive healthcare.

To expand healthcare services at the grassroots level, the government also plans to recruit one lakh new health workers. Dr Muhit said the new workers will be brought under the same framework as around 40,000 existing health workers and provided with coordinated training.

The new ‘Community Health and Wellbeing’ workers are planned to receive modern diagnostic kits and AI-powered digital applications. Using these tools, they will be able to conduct basic tests and provide necessary health advice during home visits.

The government is also seriously considering evening clinics to provide healthcare services to low-income working people in cities, Dr Muhit said.

At the same time, the government plans to establish ward-based catchment areas to bring floating urban populations and women and children with disabilities under healthcare coverage. Each unit will serve between 50,000 and 100,000 people.

The state minister urged the authorities to quickly finalise the Development Project Proposal (DPP) to implement the new urban healthcare framework. He said the initiative could establish a people-friendly and inclusive urban healthcare system capable of meeting public health needs over the next 20 to 30 years.

The consultation was moderated by Dr Syed Rubaiyet, Country Director of IPAS Bangladesh and Convener of the CSO Forum.

Secretary of the Health and Family Welfare Ministry’s Medical Education and Family Welfare Division A K M Benjamin Riazi and Director General of the Directorate General of Family Planning Zinat Rehana also spoke at the event.
//DBTech/MVO/SME/MIST//