It is important that the World Bank’s $200 million loan to help Bangladesh improve its primary health care services be utilized to its fullest potential. From annual public health catastrophes such as dengue to check-ups during pregnancy and infrastructural support such as medical waste management, the provisions of this loan can make a great impact.
Again, if utilized properly.
While Bangladesh has made major strides in terms of health care, there are still major gaps within the sector -- the recent devastation from this year’s dengue epidemic is just one of the areas where authorities need to do serious work. Urban areas also have limited public health care facilities, and private facilities are inaccessible for most people due to the high cost of entry.
These are many areas that the loan can be put to good use. Tweaks made to the health care policy and development of health care-related services, such as epidemiological research, can do a lot of good. And now that we have the means to pull off such ambitious plans, we cannot let this go to waste.
Bangladesh has taken a number of high-value loans for ambitious projects such as this. The authorities need to make sure however that the return on investment on this loan is justifiable against the other impacts it’s going to have on our economy.
The government, and relevant administrative bodies, need to draw up a proper plan for the use of this fund. The different milestones have to be met in a timely manner, and a monitoring cell has to make sure that is the case. In situations where we do miss deadlines, proper investigations have to be conducted and course corrections need to be done.
Health care is one area where the government, of any nation, cannot afford to be negligent in.
