It is good to see that the budget has implemented a Tk29,000 crore overhaul in the health sector.
There is little doubt that, for years, we have had an underfunded health sector, which has resulted in a most inefficient and ineffective system, leading to countless suffering and loss of lives.
If there ever was a time to rethink our health sector, it is now.
As such, it was indeed a crying shame that our health sector had been allocated less than 1% of the GDP, when neighbouring countries with less robust economies have continued to prioritize the health of their people above all else.
Experts have constantly decried the deficiency that the health sector suffers from, including test facilities, infrastructure, and equipment, and with the coronavirus pandemic having taken the lives of well over 1,000 people in the country, with the infection rate continuing to rise, it is time to prioritize the health sector above all else.
This time around, things must change.
With the overhaul must also come an increase in the efficiency and effectiveness of the health sector at all fronts, not only increasing the scope of the health care system but also the quality of health care being provided to our people, so that we can move away from a period in our history where people do not have to be denied health care because they do not have enough money or we do not have enough resources.
There can be no alternative to a health sector that takes care of its people. Especially now.
