A gross lack of capacity has always been at the heart of Bangladesh’s healthcare sector, compounded by other issues such as medical negligence and even malpractice among others. But nothing exposes the cracks in this very fundamental factor of a nation than when a disease risks becoming an outbreak.
Dengue has long shed its seasonal nature here in Bangladesh and has mutated into what is essentially a year-round public health crisis, but the rise of new strains of Covid-19 and the chikungunya virus reminds us that matters can always become far worse than predicted.
While the cases have most assuredly increased by now, a report from last month by the Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research stated that at least 337 suspected chikungunya cases were reported between January 1 and May 28, 153 of which were confirmed by RT-PCR tests.
The resurgence of Chikungunya in Dhaka exposes yet again the chronic shortcomings of Bangladesh’s healthcare system: For a country of over 170 million, a disproportionate burden is carried by a handful of overstretched urban facilities, leaving rural populations disproportionately under-served -- from underfunded primary care centers to limited access to diagnostics outside Dhaka, the gaps are indeed systemic and long-standing.
Furthermore, what is especially troubling is the resemblance between chikungunya and dengue symptoms, often causing delays in treatment and masking the true extent of the outbreak. Many cases go unreported due to lack of hospital visits and testing capacity.
Our healthcare system is failing the population by choosing to be reactive to a fault, in this context the interim government must recognize that the current circumstances are the result of our decades-long struggles with healthcare, that they are not isolated incidents. To this end, expanding primary healthcare services, investing in diagnostic capacity outside Dhaka, and ensuring year-round vector control must be prioritized.
There are no two ways about it: Our medical infrastructure must stop playing catch-up.