Prime Minister Tarique Rahman has said beneficiaries of fascism remain active in various areas of the state, politics and administration, while a group is currently attempting to destabilise the country’s power and energy sector.He made the remarks at a doctors’ rally organised to mark the 37th founding anniversary of the Doctors Association of Bangladesh (DAB) in the capital around noon on Saturday.The prime minister said the government inherited a weak economy, a divided administration and fragile education and healthcare systems when it assumed office, and is now working to rebuild the country.“A group is strategically active in destabilising the electricity and energy sector and is presenting misleading statements in various ways,” he said.Political awareness must not undermine professionalismTarique Rahman said political decisions in a democratic state influence almost every sphere of life. Therefore, there is nothing unreasonable about students, teachers and professionals remaining politically aware or organised according to their respective ideologies.However, he stressed that excessive political involvement must not interfere with professional responsibilities.He also said qualitative changes in politics, beyond conventional political practices, are now necessary.Focus on prevention in healthcareAddressing the doctors, the prime minister referred to a statement attributed to American businessman and inventor Thomas Edison regarding the future of medicine.He said the government’s healthcare policy reflects a similar approach, with emphasis on “prevention is better than cure.”According to the prime minister, raising awareness about the causes and prevention of diseases at an early stage can reduce the incidence of many illnesses.The government is therefore planning to recruit an additional 100,000 health workers who will raise awareness among citizens about primary healthcare and disease prevention. Doctors will have to take the lead in properly training these health workers, he said.Proposals for doctors under considerationTarique Rahman said several proposals have been presented by doctors to make the country’s healthcare system more effective and people-friendly.These include recruiting 5,000 doctors through a special BCS examination, raising the age limit for entering government medical service from 32 to 34, increasing the retirement age for doctors from 61 to 65, and enacting a modern healthcare protection law to ensure the safety of both doctors and patients.Other proposals include special allowances and incentives for doctors working in upazilas and remote areas, a fair salary structure for more than 100,000 doctors working in the private sector, and establishing specialised hospitals at divisional, district and upazila levels rather than concentrating them in Dhaka.The prime minister said the proposals were reasonable and would be positively examined and considered gradually.He added that plans to establish specialised hospitals outside Dhaka, including children’s hospitals, have already entered the implementation stage.Healthcare allocation to reach 5pc of GDPTarique Rahman said the government is implementing practical plans to make the education, health and energy sectors self-sufficient.He said the government has allocated the second-highest budget in the country’s history to the health sector, with a plan to gradually raise the allocation to 5 percent of GDP within the next five years.Work has also begun to introduce an e-Health Card, while the government has decided to upgrade every upazila hospital to a 101-bed facility.‘Infrastructure alone cannot ensure success’The prime minister stressed that infrastructure development alone would not bring the desired success in healthcare.“If doctors do not dedicate themselves with a spirit of service, infrastructure development alone will not bring success,” he said.Acknowledging the challenges doctors face in carrying out their duties, he said unintended negligence or laxity in some cases can undermine public confidence in both the government and the healthcare system.He called on doctors to play a more responsible and humane role in providing healthcare.“Let us work together to build a doctor-friendly Bangladesh where every citizen receives quality healthcare and no one has to travel abroad for better treatment,” he said.