Health sector gets a boost

Budget allocations for health services, education and research have increased with a focus on developing skilled healthcare professionals and improving maternal as well as child health services. 

Finance Minister Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali presented the proposed budget for the 2024-2025 fiscal year amounting to Tk797,000 crore (Tk7.97 trillion) in parliament on Thursday. This was his maiden budget unveiling and the first budget after the reelection of the Awami League government in January.

The minister proposed Tk41,407 crore for the health sector for FY25, up from Tk38,051 crore in the last fiscal year.

He also made some additional announcements which included the introduction of new vaccines - typhoid conjugate and Japanese encephalitis vaccines - to the Expanded Program on Immunization (EPI) in 2025.

To address health risks such as pandemics, the finance minister proposed a dedicated allocation of Tk2,000 crore this year as part of allocating special budgetary resources since the Covid-19 pandemic began.

He also proposed the allocation of Tk100 crore for the Integrated Health-Science Research and Development Fund to create basic and applied research infrastructure in medicine, conduct research activities and increase the capacity of innovations in the health sector, among others.

“Ensuring universal health and nutrition is one of the basic principles of our government. We are working to implement this principle. We are working diligently to build a healthy, strong and lively population by providing affordable quality health, nutrition and family welfare services to the public,” the minister said in his speech.

“We have already achieved commendable progress in the development of health, nutrition and family welfare sectors. Despite resource constraints, Bangladesh has demonstrated remarkable success in achieving health-related MDGs (Millennium Development Goals) targets. Inspired by this, we have been working to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030 and the goals of the Perspective Plan by 2041 and ensure smart health services,” he said.

He highlighted the development work carried out by the government in the last 15 years and said the Bangladesh Medical Research Council (BMRC) was established in 1972 to advance medical research.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina had implemented extensive health research programs over the past 15 years, aligning with the nation's commitment to universal health and nutrition, the minister said.

“Significant improvements have been made, including reductions in maternal and child mortality rates and increases in life expectancy and immunization coverage. The government has expanded immunization programs and introduced the HPV vaccine,” he said.

The community clinic initiative had seen the construction of over 14,000 clinics, providing free medicine and gaining international recognition, the minister mentioned.

Mahmood Ali noted that the digitalization of the health sector included electronic health databases and telemedicine services. 

“The pharmaceutical industry meets 98% of local medicine demand and exports globally. From January to December 2023, the export of medicines worth Tk9,880 crore from Bangladesh to different countries has been approved.”

The finance minister said 10,500 doctors, 15,000 nurses, 1,000 midwives and 650 medical technologists were recruited last year to sustain and strengthen achievements in the health sector, adding that the recruitment of 10,000 more nurses was underway.

“Several initiatives have been taken in the healthcare sector to meet future demand,” he said.

“Apart from the development of health education infrastructure, emphasis has also been given to formulating modern health education. That is why the Bangladesh Allied Health Education Board Act, 2023 and the Bangladesh Medical Education Accreditation Act, 2023 have been framed,” the finance minister said.