Posts and Telecommunications Minister Mostafa Jabbar has called upon all to work from their respective positions in the ongoing struggle to establish a digitally prosperous society to implement Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s Vision 2041. He made the call in a keynote address at a function organized by the Bangladesh Thalassemia Association and Haematocare on the occasion of World Thalassemia Day at the Institution of Diploma Engineers Bangladesh auditorium on Thursday.
At the same time, the minister promised the organizers to send SMS to 18 crore mobile phones of the country to create awareness for the establishment of thalassemia free Bangladesh by using digital power.
Posts and Telecommunications Minister Mostafa Jabbar said that media war is needed to establish a thalassemia free Bangladesh. Only by creating awareness can this disease be brought down to zero.
He further said that Bengalis have not been defeated in any war, we will not lose in the war to eradicate thalassemia from the country. The Minister emphasized the need for massive role of mass media in creating public awareness about the causes of thalassemia and its remedies.
The minister said that the only way to prevent this disease is to refrain from marrying one of the carriers of the disease to another carrier. For this purpose, if both the spouses are carriers before marriage, then according to the doctors, their child is bound to be born as a patient with thalassemia.
Adviser of Bangladesh Thalassemia Association, Former Minister Syed Didar Bakht; Member of Parliamentary Standing Committee on Ministry of Information and Broadcasting Mohammad Ebadul Karim; Emeritus Professor, PM’s Personal Physician Dr ABM Abdullah; Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Memorial Museum curator N.I. Khan; Additional Secretary of Health Services Department Md. Enamul Haque and Principal of Dhaka Medical College Dr. Mohammad Titu Mia spoke in the event while the acting President of Bangladesh Thalassemia Association Dr. MA Matin presided over the function.
The keynote address was delivered by Prof. Dr. MA Khan and the program was conducted by Dr. Mafruha Akter, Assistant Professor, Dhaka Medical College. Nowsheen Tajneen, a patient with thalassemia, spoke about thalassemia.
The Minister of Posts and Telecommunications expressed deep gratitude for the role played by the country’s medical community in countering the horrors of Corona, saying that in developed countries like the United States, the highest number of people died in Corona. Bangladesh has set an example by vaccinating a large population without producing or inventing vaccines. Former Minister Syed Didar Bakht was lauded by his former colleague in journalism Mr. Mostafa Jabbar for his role in diagnosing and treating thalassemia in the country, including the establishment of Thalassemia Hospital.
He highlighted the issue of how to create awareness about this disease through mass media as well as social media and said, “We have fought for liberation to build a beautiful Bangladesh for the next generation.”
Syed Didar Bakht said that there is no easily available medicine for thalassemia in the world and bone marrow transplant is the only treatment. We don’t want to see thalassemia patients die in front of our eyes. With a little awareness, it is possible to protect future generations from this disease. He emphasized the need for extensive research in the treatment of thalassemia as well as the need for comprehensive cooperation of the government in this regard.
Mohammad Ebadul Karim said that industry and academia have to work together to cure this disease.
Dr. ABM Abdullah said that with the joint cooperation of all, it is possible to keep thalassemia patients alive in this beautiful world for a long time. He stressed the need for awareness in this regard. Later, the Minister inaugurated the screening project of the association conducted in Dhaka, Chittagong and Dinajpur districts to identify thalassemia patients.
