Prioritising Healthcare Count Not Grandstanding

Context: Underinvestment in primary healthcare and negligible investment in the government's hospitals has exacerbated problems in the healthcare sector.

Problems in Healthcare Policy-Making

• Underinvestment in healthcare: increases hardships to access the healthcare offered by the market.
  • Shortage of 20% of doctors in Primary Healthcare Centres (PHCs) and 33% of specialists in Community Healthcare Centres (CHCs).
  • High demand for Rural Medical Practitioners (RMPs) over the BSC nursing practitioner; 80% of the people go to RMPs.
  • Bangladesh's investment in healthcare contributed to a better economic outcome.
• De-prioritisation of primary healthcare insurance: and other public hospitals insurance scheme at the cost of secondary and tertiary care.
• Deceitful collaboration with private hospitals: starve off the public health institutions as It restricts majority's access to affordable public healthcare services.
• Under-investment in money and manpower: accentuates systemic challenges in the health sector.

Way Forward

• Association of political actors and scientific judgement: at the board level of health institutions, instead of direct intervention.
• Recognise affordable and accessible healthcare as an electoral issue: to force the government to recognise the inescapability and the responsibility involved.
• Create healthcare demand through community-based organisations: like Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) and the panchayat system to ensure priority funding, proper sequencing and recognition of health issues

Conclusion: Politico-bureaucratic structure with right policies and right emphasis in terms of priority and budget to be given to the healthcare sector is must for sustainable growth of the healthcare sector.