Bangladesh has fewer than two dozen paediatric cardiologists for its 17 crore people—a figure experts described as ‘alarming’ at the first National Congress of Interventional Paediatric Cardiology (NCIPC) 2025, held Tuesday in Dhaka.

The two-day congress, organised by the Kids Heart Foundation, brought together local and international experts who warned that thousands of children born with congenital heart disease (CHD) are dying without treatment due to lack of specialised services, limited infrastructure, and high treatment costs.

Brig Gen (Retd) Prof Nurun Nahar Fatema, president of Kids Heart Foundation and chief patron of the congress, said CHD is the most common congenital anomaly, affecting 8–10 in every 1,000 live births in Bangladesh. “While 75 percent of patients can survive beyond the first year of life if properly treated, only about 2 percent currently receive care. The rest are left untreated,” she noted.

Fatema stressed that progress has been made since 2013, with more centres now offering interventions and an increase in trained specialists. However, she urged the government to adopt a comprehensive national policy, establish a patient database, and expand paediatric cardiology services to district-level hospitals.

Prof Md Sayedur Rahman, special assistant at the Ministry of Health, admitted the severe shortage of trained cardiologists. “There are only 20 paediatric cardiologists in the country. We are setting up dedicated paediatric cardiology units and cath labs in eight divisional hospitals, which should become operational by 2026,” he said, pledging more financial support for underprivileged patients.

Guest of Honour Shakeel Ahmed Qureshi, consultant paediatric cardiologist at Evelina London Children’s Hospital, UK, was honoured with a lifetime achievement award. He also conducted workshops and hands-on training for over 100 young doctors during the congress.

Experts, including senior cardiologists and policymakers, echoed calls for more investment, formal training programmes, and smoother disbursement of government funds for affected children.

The congress, described as a “milestone” for Bangladesh’s paediatric cardiac community, will continue with live case demonstrations and advanced training sessions for early-career doctors.৺