Experts have called for sustainable financing to control hypertension in Bangladesh, saying that a significant portion of the increased health budget should be allocated to tackling the condition to reduce the risk of related non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and prevent deaths.
The call was made at a journalists’ workshop titled “Sustainable Financing for Hypertension Control in Bangladesh: Progress, Barriers and the Way Forward” held at the BMA Bhaban in Dhaka on Sunday.
Organized by research and advocacy organization PROGGA (Knowledge for Progress), with support from the Global Health Advocacy Incubator (GHAI), the workshop was attended by 28 journalists working in print, television and online media.
According to the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics’ (BBS) Health and Morbidity Status Survey 2025, hypertension ranks first among the country’s top 10 diseases.
In 2024, approximately 283,800 people died from cardiovascular diseases in Bangladesh, with hypertension accounting for 52% of these deaths, participants were informed.
Hypertension is also becoming increasingly prevalent among young people. According to the Bangladesh NCD STEPS Survey 2018, around 12% of people aged 18-39 were found to have high blood pressure.
Md Riad Arafin, deputy general manager (Sales and Marketing) of Essential Drugs Company Limited, said the government’s increased health allocation for the 2026-27 fiscal year was an important step towards improving public health.
He said prioritising hypertension control in the increased allocation could help ensure marginalised communities have an uninterrupted supply of free medicines.
Doulot Akter Mala, President of the Economic Reporters’ Forum (ERF), said NCDs account for 71% of deaths in the country, while the health budget allocates only 4.2% to the sector. She stressed the media’s role in advocating increased allocations.
Muhammad Ruhul Quddus, Bangladesh Country Lead, GHAI, said hypertension affects more people than any other disease in the country, making sustainable financing essential to control it.
The workshop was chaired by ABM Zubair, executive director of PROGGA, while Samiha Bintay Kamal, program officer at PROGGA, delivered the thematic presentation.