Experts have called for a higher allocation for primary healthcare in the upcoming budget for the 2022-23 fiscal year.
The call was made at a webinar, organized by Bangladesh Health Watch, Brac James P Grant School of Public Health, Brac University and Unnayan Shamannay, on Thursday.
They said the different health issues that have come to light need to be addressed in the coming budget, according to a media statement.
All of them emphasized three key issues: formation of a health commission, health insurance for all and increasing health budget allocation.
Unnayan Shamannay Chair and former governor of Bangladesh Bank Prof Dr Atiur Rahman in his keynote paper mentioned the need to stop the practice of allocating only 5-6% of the total national budget for the health sector.
He pointed out that usually 25% of the health sector allocation goes for primary healthcare and it should be increased to 30% in the coming fiscal year and increased to 35-40% in the medium term.
He added that if the allocations for providing free-of-cost medicine to the people can be tripled then the out-of-pocket health expenditure can be reduced from 68% to 58%.
Meanwhile, Bangladesh Health Watch Convener Dr Mushtaque Raza Chowdhury suggested establishing a national commission to ensure quality primary healthcare.
The income-poor segments of Bangladesh’s population are being forced to spend 33% of their income on healthcare and there is a need for developing a health insurance program for these people, said Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS) Senior Research Fellow Dr SM Zulfiqar Ali.
He said: “Health Shock (high health expenditure) is a burden for marginalized populations.”
“Therefore, it is high time we started a health commission, health insurance and a collaboration between government, private and NGO,” he added.
State Minister for Disaster Management and Relief Dr Md Enamur Rahman said the government’s commitment to ensuring quality healthcare for all is reflected through the Covid-19 vaccination for 80% of the population within a short time.
He said he believes that if such efficiency can be replicated across the entire health sector, it will be possible to ensure quality healthcare for all in the country.
Lawmakers Dr Ruhal Haque and Dr Habibe Millat emphasized the need for decentralizing the health sector management to improve service delivery.
They also pointed out the issue of lack of manpower, saying at least 500,000 doctors are needed to serve the huge population but there are only 100,000.
The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Health and Family Welfare Ministry Member Md Abdul Aziz highlighted the need to ensure adequate services at the 493 upazila health complexes across the country.
Dr Pran Gopal Dutta, in his remarks, said it is necessary to enhance the capacity of the drug administration to ensure quality control of the medicines sold in the local markets.
According to the recently published report of the Bangladesh National Health Accounts (BNHA), of the total health expenditure in Bangladesh, 68% comes out of the pockets of the citizens while 23% is borne by the government.
The speakers said the burden of out-of-pocket health expenditure on citizens can be reduced by a significant extent if public expenditure on primary healthcare can be increased.