Chief Adviser Urges Greater Awareness on Cancer in Bangladesh

Singaporean cancer specialist Professor Toh Han Chong met with Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus at the State Guest House Jamuna on Saturday evening.

Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus has called for greater awareness of cancer across the country, particularly fatty liver-related cancers and breast cancer, which has emerged as a major cause of death among women in Bangladesh.

The Chief Adviser made the remarks during a meeting with leading Singaporean cancer specialist Professor Toh Han Chong at the State Guest House Jamuna on Saturday evening.

Professor Toh, Senior Consultant at the National Cancer Centre, Singapore, was accompanied by Vijaya Rao, Deputy Director of the SingHealth Duke-NUS Global Health Institute, and Kalwinder Kaur, Health Care Management Specialist at SingHealth and Edinburgh Napier University.

Prof. Yunus noted that non-communicable diseases such as cancer, diabetes, and heart disease have become leading causes of death across South Asia. He stressed the importance of developing affordable and accessible preventive measures.

“We need to build awareness nationwide. Treatments for cancer or heart disease are often prohibitively expensive. Preventive measures must be made easier and more affordable, especially for middle-class, lower-middle-class, and poor families,” he said.

Professor Toh highlighted that fatty liver disease now affects hundreds of millions of people in South Asia and is increasingly linked to liver cancer and other serious illnesses. “Greater awareness about this disease is essential,” he said.

The Chief Adviser also emphasized the need for more widespread and low-cost breast cancer screening in Bangladesh.

He called for enhanced healthcare cooperation between Singapore and Bangladesh, particularly in training Bangladeshi doctors and medical professionals. Professor Toh noted that visiting Singapore specialists had trained Bangladeshi doctors earlier this week and expressed hope that such programmes would continue annually.