At a seminar hosted by Dhaka Tribune to mark World Health Day on Monday, senior health professionals from leading private hospitals met with policy-makers to discuss opportunities for the health sector in Bangladesh.
The country has achieved many successes in the field of healthcare in the past decade, which have helped it to meet targets set by the Millennium Development Goals. In the past five years, Bangladesh has witnessed a 70% reduction in the number of malaria patients down to 26,000 and is on course to bring it down totally by 2020.
The role of preventative health measures was a key theme as the focus of this year’s World Health Day is raising awareness of threats from vector-borne diseases, under the slogan “Small bite, big threat.”
Experts discussed innovative ways, including recent successful telemedicine projects, in which private healthcare providers, with help from voluntary organisations and corporate CSR programmes, can make a positive difference in remote and rural communities
With news of more hospitals performing cutting edge operations in the country and the pharmaceutical sector being boosted by a global Japanese health company opening a new centre this month, there is plenty of positive activity to report.
These types of progress should not be overlooked by the media when it holds to account shortcomings in health services, whether public or private.
Huge amounts are spent annually by Bangladeshis travelling abroad for healthcare, often in cases where top quality care is available at less cost within the country. Consumer awareness should be raised, so that more such funds are spent domestically.
