Directorate General of Health Services
Profile
- Head
- Prof Provat Chandra Biswas
- Role
- Acting Director General
- Annual budget
- n/a
- Staff
- n/a
- Established
- 1958
- Legal basis
- Established as a Directorate in 1958 under the Pakistani era public health administration; upgraded to Directorate General in 1980 following Bangladesh's post-liberation restructuring of health services; currently operates under the Rules of Business 1996 (Schedule I) as a subordinate office of the Health Services Division, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
Provenance & notes
DGHS established 1958 (Pakistani era directorate) and upgraded to Directorate General in 1980; confirmed by DGHS official 'About Us' page and Wikipedia. Staff count and DGHS-specific budget not publicly available in any primary source; the parent Health Services Division's FY2025-26 allocation of Tk 31,416 crore covers DGHS operations and is recorded under health-services-division.json. Acting DG Prof Provat Chandra Biswas (urologist, Dhaka Medical College) appointed 10 March 2026 per HSD notification; confirmed across Daily Star, BSS, Bangla Mirror, and Financial Express. 'Acting' designation is a BCS grade-protocol formality: health cadre professors hold Grade 3, DG post is Grade 1; HSD confirmed he fully discharges all DG responsibilities. Predecessor Prof Dr Md Abu Zafar's tenure concluded 29 February 2026. Dengue Week-18 data (2,613 cumulative cases, 4 deaths, 113 week-18 cases) sourced directly from DGHS dashboard. Measles outbreak statistics as of 15 May 2026 (55,611 suspected, 7,416 confirmed cases; 377 suspected, 74 confirmed deaths) sourced from WHO DON-598, Wikipedia outbreak article, and BSS; figure of 74 percent unvaccinated patients from DGHS DG press briefing reported by BSS and Views Bangladesh. MR campaign 93 percent coverage figure from Dhaka Tribune citing DGHS. Vaccine procurement figures from Prothom Alo, The Observer of Business, and Dhaka Tribune cross-checked. Activity evidence hold: removed 2 exact generated refresh event(s) on read. Generated scores, positions, activity actions and verification stamps are unavailable. Retained events and unmatched action text require source review; original raw records are unchanged.
Sources
- https://dghs.gov.bd/
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Directorate_General_of_Health_Services_(Bangladesh)
- https://old.dghs.gov.bd/index.php/en/component/content/article/109-english-root/about-us/436-who-are-we
- https://www.thedailystar.net/health/news/prof-provat-chandra-biswas-appointed-new-dghs-dg-4125446
- https://www.bssnews.net/others/367699
- https://banglamirrornews.com/2026/03/11/prof-provat-appointed-dghs-dg/
- https://thefinancialexpress.com.bd/health/govt-appoints-prof-prabhat-chandra-as-dghs-director-general
- https://en.prothomalo.com/bangladesh/yqni6rdl84
- https://tob.news/vaccine-crisis-widens-beyond-measles/
- https://www.unicef.org/bangladesh/en/press-releases/bangladesh-launches-emergency-measles-rubella-campaign-unicef-who-and-gavi-protect
- https://www.who.int/bangladesh/news/detail/05-04-2026-bangladesh-launches-emergency-measles-rubella-campaign-with-unicef--who-and-gavi-to-protect-over-1.2-million-children
- https://www.unicef.org/bangladesh/en/press-releases/protecting-every-child-nationwide-measles-rubella-vaccination-campaign-bangladesh
- https://www.dhakatribune.com/bangladesh/health/409525/dghs-government-ensures-adequate-vaccine-stock
- https://www.dhakatribune.com/bangladesh/health/410134/dghs-measles-infection-reduced-after-vaccination
- https://dashboard.dghs.gov.bd/pages/heoc_dengue_v1.php
- https://denguereports.dghs.gov.bd/dengue/
- https://www.bssnews.net/news/382749
- https://viewsbangladesh.com/74-of-measles-patients-unvaccinated-dghs/
- https://www.who.int/emergencies/disease-outbreak-news/item/2026-DON598
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_Bangladesh_measles_outbreak
- https://www.thedailystar.net/news/bangladesh/news/measles-deaths-climb-451-4176796