Revolutionizing Healthcare: The Rise of Bangladesh’s Nursing Industry on the World Stage

While Bangladesh has observed the International Nurses Day along with the world to commemorate the birthday of Florence Nightingale, a new movement is emerging, one that redefines Bangladesh’s global identity through education, technology, and skilled workforce empowerment.

Reportedly Bangladesh currently lacks 82% qualified nurses for domestic healthcare sector, in the spirit of the new-wave of Bangladesh’s growth necessity arises for repositionin powerful vision:

Workforce Up-Skilling in healthcare sector: Addressing the urgent need for globally competent healthcare professionals by equipping grassroots talent with international-standard training both for national and world-wide health care sectors.

Technology-Driven Education & Healthcare: Infusing nursing education with advanced simulation by VR and AR technologies, ensuring that Bangladeshi graduates are ready to meet national and global challenges.

Inclusive Growth: Creating pathways for underprivileged communities to access world-class healthcare education, building a truly inclusive future for Bangladesh and increasing the standard of the local health care system.

Inspired by Dr. Muhammad Yunus: A Healthcare Revolution Begins

Following in the footsteps of Nobel Laureate Dr. Muhammad Yunus, whose pioneering initiatives emphasized building local healthcare capacities, other organizations such as UDDIPAN- a national NGO has embarked on a transformational journey to bridge Bangladesh’s nurse-to-doctor imbalance and lift healthcare standards nationwide.

Local Capacity Building: Recognizing the crucial shortage of trained nurses (with an alarming 1:3 nurse-to-doctor ratio), UDDIPAN’s proposed Nursing programme will provide highly skilled healthcare workers who are globally employable- source: reports published in mainstream newspapers, Dec 2023.

Importance of Nurses: Nurses are the backbone of any healthcare system. Strengthening their education and training is vital to improving patient outcomes both locally and abroad.

Simulation & Hi-Tech Lab: Reported in Dec, 2023 that a cutting-edge Simulation and Hi-Tech Lab at SKS Tower, Mohakhali to prepare students with real-world clinical skills using Virtual and Augmented Reality technologies in a blended learning pattern to host one of most reputed Scottish University from the UK.

High Skilled Migration: Opportunities for high skilled migration to developed countries are being created, which leads to higher remittance potential. This contributes significantly to the growth of national remittance.

International Collaboration: Also reported that UDDIPAN has built strategic partnerships with British government bodies and universities — particularly focusing on pathways into the UK’s National Health Service (NHS) and beyond.

ESG Development: UDDIPAN’s approach also addresses Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) principles by promoting sustainable, ethical, and community-focused healthcare education and employment. (include Dr Md Yunus's 3 zero model)

In an interview with BBC on 8 June, 2023, British MP Sam Tarry highlighted this initiative, calling it “a globally outlooking way of potentially bringing highly trained staff to the UK,” referencing Bangladesh’s nursing education efforts as a model for future international healthcare staffing.

Bangladesh’s New Frontier: Health Collaboration and Global Workforce Export

Recognizing the scale of opportunity, several leading pharmaceutical and healthcare groups are stepping forward to collaborate with UDDIPAN:

United College of Nursing & Universal Nursing College

These partnerships represent a growing national momentum to position nursing as a strategic  industry for Bangladesh — akin to the RMG (Ready-Made Garments) sector’s global success story.

The upcoming UDDIPAN’s Nursing Project, set to launch in May-June 2025, will serve as a transformative initiative by-

●    Generating skilled employment for thousands of Bangladeshis
●    Up-skilling the local workforce to bring in quality care and addressing global healthcare worker shortages, particularly in the UK, Japan, and Europe; promoting further flow of remittance to Bangladesh
●    Boosting Bangladesh’s service exports in a high-value, future-proof sector, intention is to enrich the quality of local healthcare, and create global employment opportunities for skilled professionals ensuring our citizens receive quality care in country and inward remittance increases from skilled workers abroad. 

The world is watching as local initiatives by Grameen Bank and UDDIPAN and others redefine Bangladesh’s role in global healthcare. By merging technology, access to quality and affordable education, and global partnerships are not just building nurses — it’s building a new future for Bangladesh on the world stage.

"Healthcare is the new frontier for Bangladesh’s global recognition — and UDDIPAN is leading the charge."

News Report: 

1. https://www.risingbd.com/national/news/531680
2. https://www.daily-sun.com/post/724272
3.https://www.thedailystar.net/business/organisation-news/press-releases/news/uddipan-launches-simulation-hitech-lab-upskill-workforces-3485786
4. Prothom Alo, May 12, 2025