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                Bangladesh Journal of Bioethics 2018; 9(2):40 
 

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Bioethics for peace and sustainable development of Bangladesh 

 

Shamima Parvin Lasker 1 Md morshadur Rahman 2 

1. Professor & Head of Anatomy MH Samorita Medical College, Dhaka and Secretary General , 

Bangladesh Bioethics Society 

2. Senior Reporter, Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha 

 

Abstract: Bioethics is a vital part of a sustainable development. In this paper we discuss why 

developed country incorporate bioethics along with development of science and technology; 

and why bioethics decision-making is important to long term development of Bangladesh.  

 

Introduction:  For the past 20 years, Bangladesh has made significant progress in several 

major areas of human development. Some of the indices increase the score of Human 

Development Index (HDI), e.g., life expectancy, literacy rate and nutritional status. Life 

expectancy and literacy rate are higher in Bangladesh than the neighboring counties such as 

India and Pakistan. A report says that nutritional status of under five year children in 

Bangladesh has increased and is stood second position after Sri Lanka among South East 

Asia region. In contrast, the economic development of Bangladesh remained much below 

that of many developing countries in the area. One of the main reasons for less than expected 

economic growth is the lack of good governance and ethical practices. Since the 1990s, a 

global discourse has been growing that ethical education is vital for the improvement of 

governance and development in developing countries. The need for ethical education has 

been emphasized by almost all international organizations and the members of the 

international assistance community.  

 

Meaning of Bioethics: Ethics means moral value, norm and attitude. It is the understanding 

of human behavior in relation to values.  It determines which behaviors are good and 

acceptable and which are bad. Bioethics is the understanding of right, responsibility, justices 

and moral interaction with the living being. The simplest way of defining bioethics is ethical 

issue raised by questions involving life (bio) in every day living. As for example: What food 

should we eat? How is food grown? Where should I live? How much disturbance of nature 

should I make? What relationship should I have with fellow organism, including human 

being? How do we balance the quality of our life?  

 

Bioethics is based on four basic principles, e.g. a. Respect of person, b. Beneficience, c. Non 

Malficience, and d. Justice. Bioethics teaches how to balance between different benefits, 

risks and duties. It includes medical ethics, environmental ethics and ethics in science, 

business, law, social science and decision making. Concepts of bioethics can be seen in 

literature, art, music, culture, philosophy and religion. Bioethics can be use as synonyms of 

professional ethics. Now a day bioethics has gained immense important in whole of the 



                Bangladesh Journal of Bioethics 2018; 9(2):40 
 

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world due to rapid advancement in science and technology, drastic changes in 

macroeconomic planning and globalization.  

 

Discussion: Though bioethics has existed in every religion and in every region through out 

the ages but in the 1970s it emerged as a discipline of academic in USA due to the increasing 

complexity of medical advances. Van R Potter proposed the theory of bioethics for 

preventing possible threats to the accepted principles of equity and social justice in life 

especially in human. Since its inception, the field has grown exponentially in its scope and 

importance. Today, there are bioethics departments in over 60 U.S. academic medical 

centers. Many hospitals are now employing bioethics experts to guide on such issues as 

allocation of scarce resources, how to care for terminally ill patients and dilemmas of doctors 

facing everyday for advancement of new technology.  There are at over 95% of U.S. 

hospitals has ethics committees for helping physicians, nurses and families on bioethical 

issues on a case-by-case basis. Thus today bioethics is not only a reasoned discourse but a 

matter of crisis management. 

 

UNESCO, a leading agency of United Nation addresses the ethical issue on recent 

advancement in sciencs and technology. The Regional Unit for Social and Human Science 

(RUSHAP) of UNESCO is working in Asia-Pacific Region on ethics of science and 

technology. In Bangladesh, UNESCO  Dhaka  in  partnership with  the  RUSHAP and with 

the enterprise of Prof. Shamima P Lasker and Dr Arif Hossain took initiative to support the 

constitution of the  first  ever Bioethics  Society  in  Bangladesh. As a result, Bangladesh 

Bioethics Society (BBS) was established in 2009 that was launched by H.E. Nurul Islam 

Nahid, former Minister for Education, People Republic of Bangladesh.  Over the last couple 

of years BBS has organized a number of seminars and workshops, courses and international 

conference to familiarize the idea of bioethics and encourage the research on bioethics issues 

in Bangladesh. 

 

Bangladesh is a pluralistic society with a wonderful diversity of values and ethical ideals. But 

poverty, natural calamites, lack of proper and substantial education and rapidly advancing 

technology people are forced to deal with one crisis after another. Rapid growth in 

population has put a tremendous pressure on the resources needed to meet the basic needs of 

the people such as food, housing, education and health. In a result bio-ethical decision, 

sanctity of life is deemed to be less important than the quality of life. People are forgetting to 

reason soundly and coherently. Corruption, nepotism, selfishness, misconduct and 

malpractice are becoming the common phenomena in Bangladesh. It gives the impression 

that we don't able to tell which values need to be employed when and which ethical 

dilemmas need our most immediate attention in our society. As a result, morality and ethics 

are defeated by the greed. We are living through a time as if material gains take precedence 

over righteousness. Actually, there is huge gap in teaching of ethics in all level to coup with 

recent development human mind and psychology with the advance of science and 

technology.  



                Bangladesh Journal of Bioethics 2018; 9(2):40 
 

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Ethicists carefully and critically explore how we think and determine right and wrong. They 

investigate what motivations that govern personal and group action. Ethics forms the basis of 

almost all personal decision-making, whether we are aware of it or not. The same is true of 

decision-making in professional life, including business, law, and medicine; in civil and 

political life and in questions of social justice. In reality, deficiency in proper and substantial 

moral education and lack of practice of ethics in society corruption, nepotism, selfishness, 

misconduct and malpractice are becoming the common phenomena in Bangladesh. 

 

Bangladesh achieved independence in 1971 under the leadership of the Father of the Nation, 

Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman through a historic struggle and a nine-month-long 

war of liberation. The driving force behind the struggle was the dream for a happy, 

prosperous peaceful and harmonious society. But, during the last forty-four years, this dream 

was thwarted.  Different laws, rules, regulations, policies, and a number of organizations are 

established by the Governments to curb the corruption for free from hunger, illiteracy, 

unemployment, deprivation and poverty. But nothing is improved the condition of 

Bangladesh rather then holding championship in corruption thrice in 1990s. However, 

present Prime Minister, daughter of Banglabandhu Sheikh Hasina recently understand that 

enforcement of law and punishment may not the suffice to eradicate corruption.  She realized 

that a movement has to be launched to prevent corruption, exploitation to ensure human 

rights and freedom, equality and justice for the citizens. She recognized that the behavioral 

excellence influenced by ethics, morality and honesty can make a society free from 

corruption and good governance. Therefore, she has taken National Integrity Strategy under 

Vision 2021 to encourage the culture of ethics and morality among the people in the society.  

 

Conclusion: Bioethics education may change the people’s outlook in the society. To 

establish a happy, prosperous and peaceful society by changing the people’s mindset is a 

great challenging. Hope Prime Minister, Sheikh Hasina can establish ethics and fulfill the 

dream of Banglabandhu’s Sonar Bangla and make Bangladesh free from hunger, illiteracy, 

unemployment, deprivation and poverty.  

 

Author Contribution: 1st author evolved the idea & wrote the 1st draft. 2nd author flourish 

the idea further and meticulously draft the manuscript. 

 

Conflict of Interest: There is no conflict of interest to declare. 

 

 

 

 


