Since healthy populations are long-lived. This makes it possible to produce more and save more. And that is why every year on April 7, World Health Day is celebrated all over the world.
The need for this day was mentioned in the first health meeting of 1948. Since then, this day has been observed every year since 1950.
Health system of Bangladesh
In Bangladesh, the public sector as well as the private sector, various NGOs, and international organizations are working in healthcare. In the public sector, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare acts as the apex body for policy formulation, planning, and decision making at the individual and collective levels.
The four departments under the Ministry are the Department of Health, the Department of Family Planning, the Department of Nursing Services, and the Department of Drug Administration providing health services to the citizens.
Bangladesh has done a great job on healthcare since independence. The government is working to formulate a health policy to ensure basic health facilities for all people, especially the backward ones.
The current state of family planning, including health, nutrition, and reproductive health, especially the economic emancipation of women, children, and the elderly, and the sustainable development of physical, social, mental, and spiritual well-being are the main goals of the HNP sector.
National Health Policy, National Food, and Nutrition Policy, and National Population Policy are being implemented under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
NGOs have a significant role to play in health, nutrition, and family planning services in both rural and urban areas. They mainly work in the field of family planning, maternal and child health. NGOs have recently expanded their services and are playing an important role in providing primary services in the city.
The Pharmaceutical Policy of 1972 has played an important role in restructuring the health sector in Bangladesh. Its main objective was to remove harmful, worthless, and unnecessary drugs from the market and to ensure that medicines at all levels of healthcare were provided at a fair price.
The successful implementation of the National Pharmaceutical Policy of 1972 has resulted in tremendous progress in the pharmaceutical sector in Bangladesh.
In achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), some indicators have been achieved in the field of health such as reduction of infant mortality rate, immunization of infants and mothers, elimination of vitamin A deficiency, etc. As Bangladesh lags behind in other indicators, concerted efforts need to be made to achieve the Millennium Development Goals.
Medical and infrastructure
According to the latest report from the Ministry of Health, there is only one registered doctor for every 2,894 people in Bangladesh. And there is one bed for 1,698 people including public and private The total number of hospitals in Bangladesh is 3,575, both public and private Of these, only 592 are government hospitals
Among the government hospitals, there are 467 hospitals at the Upazila and union level and 125 specialized hospitals at the district level.
And it is clear that the health care infrastructure at the private level is more than the public health service And private healthcare is expensive and out of reach of the common man There are 5,220 diagnostic centers in the private sector A part of it also conducts the activities of the hospital without approval There are many complaints about the quality of their service
There are allegations that doctors in government hospitals are more interested in private practice than private hospitals and clinics.
Apart from dental surgeons, the total number of registered doctors in Bangladesh is 65,776 The total number of beds in the hospital is 92,804
There are 13,000 community clinics at the union level in Bangladesh There are 13,240 community health workers working there These clinics are mainly engaged in the service of mothers and children Necessary vaccinations for children are given by the government
Bangladesh’s success in vaccination is enviable Success, in this case, is almost 100 percent Another aspect of health care in Bangladesh is that now about 97 percent of the families drink tap water And 63 percent of households use sanitary latrines
Budget in the health sector
The budget in the health sector is increasing but not enough. The allocation has increased in the health sector in the 2016-17 financial year 17,486 crore has been allocated for this sector 3 thousand more than last year. Which is 5.6 percent of the total budget, 1.3 percent more than last financial year The total allocation for the health sector in the last fiscal year 2015-16 was Tk 12,726 crore, which is 4.3 percent of the total budget.
In the 2014-15 financial year, it was proposed to allocate Tk 11,146 crore for the overall development and non-development sector, which was 4.45 percent of the total budget. Earlier, in the 2012-2013 financial year, 4.86 percent of the total budget was allocated to the health sector.
Corruption, irregularities
According to the TIB report, bribes ranging from Tk. 10,000 to Tk. 10 lakh have to be paid for recruitment, transfer, and promotion in institutions under the Ministry of Health. There is a relationship between the doctors of government institutions and the commission sharing of diagnostic centers and brokers
According to the TIB, there are allegations of taking bribes of Tk. 3 to 5 lakh for the appointment of ad hoc doctors and Tk. 1 to 5 lakh for the recruitment of third and fourth-class employees.
The report further said that the party has political influence in the selection of the patient’s diet provider in the hospital Not all contractors have the opportunity to participate in the tender The contractor negotiates with the members of the tender committee in some cases and in some cases exerts political influence. The food items mentioned in the tender are not supplied properly
The Diagnostic Center has a commission-based agreement with the doctors The rate of this commission depends on how many patients a doctor sends The commission rate is 30 to 50 percent Similarly, the commission of brokers is 10 to 30 percent
Government doctors spend more time in private clinic hospitals He told the patients to go there In many private hospitals, patients are reported using various seals using their seals without having pathologists. And there is no regulation on the cost of any test Doctors also charge a hefty fee
Although the cost of treatment in private hospitals is very high, there is no one to see the quality
However, it is universally acknowledged that health is one of the most important parts of our lives. There is no chance of ignoring health. So at any cost, ensuring health protection is everyone’s basic responsibility. Because ‘Health is the root of all happiness’.