Staff Reporter :
A group of doctors and some civil society members on Wednesday demanded at least 12 percent in the Health Sector of the total budget and five percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
The government allocated 4.92 percent of the total budget for Health Sector in 2019-20 fiscal year which is very poor for universal healthcare. It should be at least 12pc of the total budget,” they said.
They said this in a press conference held in the Sagar-Runi Auditorium of Dhaka Reporters’ Unity on Wednesday jointly organised by Doctors for Health and Environment, Bangladesh Paribesh Andolan (BAPA), and Jatiya Swasthya Adhikar Andolan.
Professor Kazi Rakibul Islam, General Secretary of Doctors for Health and Environment, presented the keynote.
Rakibul said, the allocation for the health sector in the budget this year is lower compare, with that of the last couple of years.
“Although the World Health Organization (WHO) says the budget for the health sector should be at least 15 percent of the total budget and five percent of GDP, the government has failed to achieve the target of the WHO,” he said.
The organisations presented a 21-point proposal-including increasing the health sector’s budget- since, according The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) for Asia and the Pacific, this budget is always lower in South Asia.
“The budget has never been allocated properly,” said Dr Professor Najmun Nahar, Pediatrician Specialist and former President of Doctors for Health and Environment, adding that it was insufficient for the health sector.
The government should decide upon the budget after calculating the number of doctors and paramedics required in the country, she said.
Additionally, the allocated budget is not even properly utilised, she said. “I think 70 percent of the budget remains unutilised. Proper accountability needs to be ensured for this sum to be properly utilised.”
A group of doctors and some civil society members on Wednesday demanded at least 12 percent in the Health Sector of the total budget and five percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
The government allocated 4.92 percent of the total budget for Health Sector in 2019-20 fiscal year which is very poor for universal healthcare. It should be at least 12pc of the total budget,” they said.
They said this in a press conference held in the Sagar-Runi Auditorium of Dhaka Reporters’ Unity on Wednesday jointly organised by Doctors for Health and Environment, Bangladesh Paribesh Andolan (BAPA), and Jatiya Swasthya Adhikar Andolan.
Professor Kazi Rakibul Islam, General Secretary of Doctors for Health and Environment, presented the keynote.
Rakibul said, the allocation for the health sector in the budget this year is lower compare, with that of the last couple of years.
“Although the World Health Organization (WHO) says the budget for the health sector should be at least 15 percent of the total budget and five percent of GDP, the government has failed to achieve the target of the WHO,” he said.
The organisations presented a 21-point proposal-including increasing the health sector’s budget- since, according The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) for Asia and the Pacific, this budget is always lower in South Asia.
“The budget has never been allocated properly,” said Dr Professor Najmun Nahar, Pediatrician Specialist and former President of Doctors for Health and Environment, adding that it was insufficient for the health sector.
The government should decide upon the budget after calculating the number of doctors and paramedics required in the country, she said.
Additionally, the allocated budget is not even properly utilised, she said. “I think 70 percent of the budget remains unutilised. Proper accountability needs to be ensured for this sum to be properly utilised.”
