The High Court today ordered the government to form a committee in a month in order to formulate a guideline to prevent medically unnecessary Cesarean sections at all private and public hospitals and clinics.

The court also ordered the authorities concerned of the government to formulate the guidelines and to submit before it in the next six months.

The High Court bench of Justice Moyeenul Islam Chowdhury and Justice Md Ashraful Kamal passed the order following a writ petition filed by Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust (BLAST).

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51% increase in unnecessary C-sections in Bangladesh

The court also issued a rule asking the concerned authorities of the government to explain in four weeks why their failure to prevent medically unnecessary Cesarean sections at private and public hospitals and clinics should not be declared illegal.

As per the HC order, the health ministry and the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) and Bangladesh Medical and Dental Council (BMDC) will form a committee to formulate a guideline to stop unnecessary cesarean operation, Petitioner's lawyer Barrister Rashna Imam told The Daily Star.

The committee will submit the guidelines to the High Court in six months in compliance with the order, he said.

According to new figures released by Save the Children, Bangladesh is facing a massive boom in the number of medically unnecessary Caesarean section, commonly known as C-sections — between 2016 and 2018 the number of operations increased by 51 percent.

The country saw an estimated 860,000 of these unnecessary operations last year, while up to 300,000 women who need a C-section are unable to afford or access it.