Dhaka: Speakers at a workshop today emphasized the urgent need for increased budget allocation in the health sector to tackle the rising prevalence of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in Bangladesh, particularly hypertension.
According to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, the workshop, organized by the research and advocacy organization PROGGA with support from Global Health Advocacy Incubator (GHAI), focused on 'Hypertension Control in Bangladesh: Progress and Way Forward.' The event, held at a city hotel, witnessed the participation of twenty-two senior journalists from print, television, and online media.
The speakers pointed out that while the budget for FY 2025-26 shows a slight increase from the previous year, with 5.3 percent of the total budget allocated for health, a significant portion of this funding must be directed towards combating serious non-communicable diseases. They highlighted that hypertension and other NCDs account for 71 percent of total deaths in Bangladesh, yet only 4.2 percent of the health budget is dedicated to combating these diseases.
The workshop underscored the critical need for the availability of free anti-hypertensive medicines across all Community Clinics and Upazila Health Complexes to address the prevalence of hypertension. Despite WHO's longstanding recommendation and the Health Sector Reform Commission's recent endorsement to allocate 15 percent of the national budget for health, Bangladesh's health budget has remained around 5 percent.
Sustainable funding is deemed necessary to bolster the health system and ensure an uninterrupted supply of essential medicines. Muhammad Ruhul Quddus, Bangladesh Country Lead of GHAI, and ABM Zubair, Executive Director of PROGGA, were present as discussants. Presentations on hypertension control were delivered by PROGGA's Director Shahedul Alam, Head of Programs Hasan Shahriar, and Coordinator Sadia Galiba Prova.
The event also featured a session moderated by senior journalist Zahirul Alam on media's role in addressing hypertension, with closing remarks by journalist and convener of the anti-tobacco media alliance (ATMA), Mortuza Haider Liton.