Public health advocacy organization PROGGA (Knowledge for Progress) has welcomed the government's proposed increase in health sector spending in the national budget for fiscal year 2026-27, while urging authorities to ensure that a significant portion of the additional allocation is directed towards controlling non-communicable diseases (NCDs), particularly hypertension.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, PROGGA said the government has significantly increased the allocation for the health sector in the proposed budget, describing the move as a positive step toward improving public health.
The organization noted that the health sector's share of the national budget had remained stagnant at around 5% for many years. For the first time, the proposed budget raises this allocation to 7.4% of the total national budget. The proposed health allocation is also equivalent to 1.01% of the country's gross domestic product (GDP), compared with only 0.58% in the previous fiscal year.
However, PROGGA said the key challenge now is ensuring that the increased allocation is invested in the country's most pressing public health priorities.
According to the organization, non-communicable diseases currently account for 71% of all deaths in Bangladesh. Despite the substantial disease burden, only 4.2% of the total health budget is allocated to NCD prevention and control.
Citing the Health and Morbidity Status Survey 2025 conducted by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS), PROGGA said hypertension is the leading disease among the country's top ten diseases. The organization noted that hypertension is one of the most significant risk factors for heart disease, stroke, kidney disease and several other non-communicable diseases.
The organization also referred to the World Health Organization's 2025 report, which found that 283,800 people died from cardiovascular diseases in Bangladesh in 2024. According to the report, hypertension was responsible for 52% of those deaths.
PROGGA further highlighted research showing that every Tk1 invested in hypertension screening and treatment yields an overall return of Tk18. Nevertheless, due to inadequate budget allocation, it has not been possible to ensure an uninterrupted supply of anti-hypertensive medicines at all primary healthcare facilities across the country, the organization said.
Commenting on the proposed budget, ABM Zubair, executive director of PROGGA, said: "A significant portion of the increased health budget should be invested in addressing hypertension and other non-communicable diseases. In particular, ensuring the availability of hypertension medicines at all grassroots-level healthcare facilities would substantially reduce the burden of non-communicable diseases."
PROGGA called on policymakers to prioritise investment in hypertension prevention, screening and treatment programs, arguing that targeted spending on NCD control would help maximise the public health benefits of the increased health sector allocation and reduce preventable deaths across the country.