Around 6.4 million Bangladeshis become poverty-stricken each year just by paying their medical bills, health specialists have said at a two-day scientific conference in Dhaka.
The finding was mentioned in a keynote speech by Additional Director General of Health Services Prof Dr Abul Kalam Azad, who also told the programme at the ICDDRB venue that the available infrastructure, facilities and manpower must be utilised properly to ensure healthcare for all.
Prof M Muzaherul Huq, chairman of Public Health Foundation of Bangladesh that co-organised the conference with Faith Bangladesh, told the inaugural session that people were not getting necessary services even though adequate facilities were available.
Speakers at the event also said the country should emphasise on prevention of diseases as many people were unable to pay for treatment of diseases such as diabetes and hypertension
The Northern University Bangladesh presented a study which found that 27.6% of injectable drug users in the county shared the same needles, exposing themselves to high risk of infection with communicable diseases like AIDS or Hepatitis B.
The study report also showed that 44.7% of respondents said they practised polygamous sex, while 61.2% among them did not use protection.
Anwar Khan Modern Medical College conducted another study on 208 under-five children at Dhamrai Upazila Health Complex, finding that diarrhoea, fever and pneumonia were the major causes of child deaths.
Another study by Northern University found that infertility had links to smoking, depression, job stress, hypertension and diabetes.
Among the respondents, 45% said they were smokers, 38.5% had depression, 37.7% had job stress, 36.5% suffered from hypertension, 26.9% had diabetes and 24.4% were facing family problems.
In total, 25 study reports and papers were presented on the first day of the conference.
