Staff Reporter :
The government has allocated 5.63 percent of total budget for the health sector this year.
Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal placed the proposed budget in the Parliament on Thursday.
In his budget speech he said, I propose to allocate Tk. 25,732 crore for the Health Services Division, the Health Education and Family Welfare Division, which was Tk. 22,336 crore in FY2018-19. It is worth mentioning that currently 12 ministries and divisions are implementing programs related to health and family welfare. The allocation for this purpose in FY 2019- 20 is Tk. 29,464 crore, which is 1.02 percent of GDP and 5.63 percent of total budget allocation.:”
It was Tk23,383 crore for health, 5.2 percent of total budget, 0.92 of GDP in 2018-19 fiscal year.
Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal in the budget speech said, “The government has been working with dedication and sincerity to develop a healthy and energetic population by ensuring quality health services, nutrition, affordable and quality family planning. Following the government interventions, the maternal mortality rate, infant mortality rate, child (under-5 years) mortality rate, malnutrition, stunting rate and lowweight rate. are constantly reducing, and the average life expectancy rate is increasing.”
The Finance Minister said, “The government will construct a 1,000-bed super specialized ward and a one-point check up center, introduce afternoon health services, and construct a cancer building to modernize the Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University. A world class bone-marrow transplant unit will be established in the University.”
He said, “The government has taken initiatives to develop and expand
Science based medical care system. For example, three nuclear m-edical physics institutes with ultramodern laboratory facilities have been established to promote cancer treatment management.”
It may be mentioned that Finance Minister AMA Muhith proposed for an allocation of Tk 16,182 crore, that is 4.04 percent of the total budget in FY 2017-18, Tk 17,487 crore was proposed in the budget for the health sector, which was 5.13 percent of the total budget, Tk. 12,695 crore for health sector which was 4.3% of the total budget for FY 2015-16 and Tk.11,146 crore in FY 2014-15 for the health sector, which was about 4.4 percent of the total budget size.
