Staff Reporter :
The High Court on Monday directed the government to ensure adequate supply of antivenom in all upazila health complexes across the country to treat snakebite patients.
The HC bench of Justice Fahmida Quader and Justice Sayed Jahed Mansur passed the order after hearing a writ petition filed by Advocate AKM Nurun Nabi Ujjal. The court also asked the authorities concerned-including the health ministry secretary and the director general of the Directorate General of Drug Administration-to submit a progress report within two months.
The petition was filed attaching media reports highlighting deaths from snakebites in different upazilas due to unavailability of antivenom.
Court sources said the bench observed that patients were dying unnecessarily because of the shortage of the life-saving medicine in rural hospitals.
According to a recent newspaper survey, at least 38 people died and 610 others were injured in snakebite incidents between February and July 1 this year.
A health ministry study earlier revealed that around 400,000 people fall victim to snakebites annually in Bangladesh, leading to more than 7,500 deaths.
Despite this high prevalence, antivenom remains scarce in many upazila health complexes, forcing patients to travel long distances or rely on inadequate treatment.
The HC order aims to ensure that life-saving medicines are available at the grassroots level so that rural communities, who are most vulnerable to snakebites, get timely treatment.
