As usual the government has curtailed allocation of health sector in the proposed national budget for the fiscal year 2013-2014.
Finance Minister AMA Muhith Thursday allocated an outlay of Tk94.95b in the health sector which is only 4.7% of the total budget while it was 4.86% in the last fiscal 2012-2013 with the allocation amounting to Tk93.55b.
Professor Dr Rashid-E-Mahbub, President of the Health Rights Movement Bangladesh and former president of Bangladesh Medical Association (BMA) said it was very frustrating that the health sector had been receiving much less amount of allocation for several years.
He said although the present AL government is committed to ensuring health service free and at very low cost for everyone they have mostly failed to do so.
Due to budget shortage ordinary people especially the poor will not get service from public hospital or institutions.
The government has also cut the allocation of development fund which might break social frame and makes people agitated against the government, he added.
At present getting better health service in the private sector will be tougher than early years.
In the previous year the average allocation in the health sector was only 1% of the country’s GDP while in other countries it was 2 to 3% which is considered to be reasonable.
In 2010-2011 fiscal the health sector was granted 5.9% of the total GDP while in 2011-2012 it was 6.58% and 4.86% in 2012-2013 and 2013-2014 fiscal years.
Earlier, the health policy of 2000 says the minimum per capita expenditure on health should be $12 but according to the world health organisation (WHO) it should be $34 in Bangladesh.
Dr Abdul Matin, general secretary of the BAPA and ex-general secretary of the Health and Environment of Bangladesh said in the name of health service maximum allocation goes in vain.
While presenting the proposed budget Finance Minister Mr Muhit said they were working relentlessly to extend the facilities of public health and nutrition to the grass-root level to fulfil the election pledges.
The government has a lot of success to its credit like reducing maternal and child mortality rate, formulation of the health policy, Control of Smoking and Tobacco Use (Amendment) Act 2012 etc.
But it has still the challenge of reducing the rate of malnutrition, increase the practice of more breast-feeding to reduce child mortality and upgrading national drug policy-2005 etc.
