Health Minister Zahid Maleque expressed that in comparison to the current fiscal year, the budget for the health sector has seen an increase in the upcoming 2023-24 fiscal year. However, he emphasized that it would be beneficial to further augment the budget in this sector.
The minister was speaking at the inauguration ceremony of the newly built ICU at the National Institute of Traumatology and Orthopaedic Rehabilitation (NITOR) in Sherebangla Nagar of the capital on Sunday.
The health minister said that in the new budget, Tk38,052 crore have been allocated to the health sector, which is 5% of the total budget. In the previous financial year, 5.4% or Tk36,863 crores of the total budget were allocated to this sector. Given the expanded scope of healthcare, a slight increase in allocation is warranted.
Zahid Maleque said: “Although the tax on sugar has been increased, the price of sweets has been reduced. Just because VAT is not added on sweets, you should not get diabetes by eating too many sweets. Conversely, the price of tobacco products has been increased to promote good health among the population.”
