At the ceremony of unveiling of a book's cover at the Bangabandhu International Conference Centre in the city on Saturday, speakers made incisive observations on the country's health sector. Titled "Swadhinatar Ponchas Bachhar: Syastha Khater Bikash", the book has been written by as many 99 authors comprising prominent public health experts, renowned physicians, researchers, teachers, nutritionists and journalists at the initiative of the Health Watch, a multi-stakeholder civil society organisation. It is true that Bangladesh has made notable progress in the area of health, hygiene and sanitation. Or else, the average longevity of the population could not have risen to 74 years now from a pathetic rank of just 43 years in 1971. Longevity is certainly a vital socio-economic indicator and on this count Bangladesh has performed better than both India and Pakistan.
How the success in the sector has been achieved sheds light on the collaborative efforts expended by the government, the non-government organisations and international bodies. Chief guest Rehman Sobhan lauded particularly the role of NGOs in the area of hygiene and sanitation. Indeed, donation of or distribution of tube-wells and sealed latrines at a nominal price brought about a paradigm shift in the people's health status. Universal immunisation programme for children launched by the government in collaboration with UN bodies has been one of the success stories in the health sector. Upazila health complexes and maternity clinics were part of a programme to reach health service at the doorsteps of the people in rural areas. Another highly successful programme was carried out in family planning for decades but this laudable programme has largely been discontinued for want of resources received mainly from foreign sources.
Notwithstanding the remarkable achievements, the health sector has gradually become more commercial than the country's average population could afford. With commercialisation, there have been matching irregularities, abuse and waste of fund and medical equipment in the government health facilities. A number of principals of medical colleges, officials and even former directors general of the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) came under the scanner for misappropriation of funds and other irregularities. In the private sector, the aberrations know no bounds. From manufacture of spurious life-saving drugs to operation of medical facilities with quacks, the list is long. Even there are allegations against the reputed hospitals for fleecing families of patients with astronomical bills ---in some case false bills.
All this points to the fact that the health sector is not serving the ailing humanity as best as it should. But the country's physicians have performed a few amazing surgeries, done in the most advanced countries in the world, in recent time. There is no argument that the allocation in the health sector is one of the lowest even in South Asia and should be raised substantially but whatever fund is allocated gets misused as well. This has to be plugged. The speakers at the seminar have suggested the formation of a national health commission. This can be of help if it is vested with the power to oversee streamlining the health sector and hearing public complaints against irregularities and lack of care. Health insurance for the poor in particular is a must because 67 per cent of their income on an average is spent on medical care. Here is an outrageous discrimination warranting immediate solution.