For achieving SDG in health

Despite constraints, Bangladesh has achieved considerable success in increasing life expectancy

The task is staggering. For achieving Sustainable Development Goal (SDGs) in health, individual health cost must be brought down to 30 percent to the extant 67 percent. Raising government allocation on health sector is surely a way to attain this goal, as the Director General of the Health Economics Unit pointed out; and the government ought to make increasing allocation in the coming years. But there is another way people’s out-of-pocket expenditure can be reduced.

A few years ago, the ICDDR,B published a report in which it was revealed that 30 per cent of health expenditure of a person could be reduced if such evils as doctor’s ‘commission’ could be stopped. Indeed, the ‘commission’ business has become so prevalent in our health system that it has made individual health cost unusually high. Before, it was only on the laboratory tests, ‘commission’ used to be given to doctors, but presently it has expanded to other technology-based tests such as altrasonogram, MRI, etc. also.

There are many doctors who prescribe diagnostic tests unnecessarily, only to get money out of it. Unnecessary caesarian section is being done rampantly. Even cardiologists are given commission on ‘stents’ to open coronary blockages by the stent-producing companies. The practice has become so widespread that the government has made it mandatory to hang prices of stents in the heart hospitals of the country according to the company prices. The list of dishonest medical practices is long and if they can be curbed effectively, it would go a long way in achieving SDGs in health in Bangladesh.

However, according to the findings, besides the individual’s staggering 67 percent out-of-pocket expenditure, the government bears only 23 per cent of the country's total health expenditures while 3 per cent comes from voluntary payment schemes and 7 per cent from foreign donor agencies. Hopefully, the government allocation in health sector is increasing gradually every year, but 67 per cent burden of cost on an individual is too huge, and this should be addressed taking the right steps.

Despite constraints, Bangladesh has achieved considerable success in controlling diseases and increasing life expectancy. It is learnt that to minimise the gap between the public expenditure and the OOP, the government has embarked on the largest health sector programme worth Taka 1,15,486 crore for the fourth Health, Nutrition and Population (HNP) Sector Programme-2017-2021. This is 126 per cent higher than the third one. Besides increasing allocation in health budget, it is necessary to remove the existing anomalies and corruption from the health sector also. 

For achieving SDG in health

Despite constraints, Bangladesh has achieved considerable success in increasing life expectancy

The task is staggering. For achieving Sustainable Development Goal (SDGs) in health, individual health cost must be brought down to 30 percent to the extant 67 percent. Raising government allocation on health sector is surely a way to attain this goal, as the Director General of the Health Economics Unit pointed out; and the government ought to make increasing allocation in the coming years. But there is another way peoples out-of-pocket expenditure can be reduced. A few years ago, the ICDDR,B published a report in which it was revealed that 30 per cent of health expenditure of a person could be reduced if such evils as doctors commission could be stopped. Indeed, the commission business has become so prevalent in our health system that it has made individual health cost unusually high. Before, it was only on the laboratory tests, commission used to be given to doctors, but presently it has expanded to other technology-based tests such as altrasonogram, MRI, etc. also. There are many doctors who prescribe diagnostic tests unnecessarily, only to get money out of it. Unnecessary caesarian section is being done rampantly. Even cardiologists are given commission on stents to open coronary blockages by the stent-producing companies. The practice has become so widespread that the government has made it mandatory to hang prices of stents in the heart hospitals of the country according to the company prices. The list of dishonest medical practices is long and if they can be curbed effectively, it would go a long way in achieving SDGs in health in Bangladesh. However, according to the findings, besides the individuals staggering 67 percent out-of-pocket expenditure, the government bears only 23 per cent of the countrys total health expenditures while 3 per cent comes from voluntary payment schemes and 7 per cent from foreign donor agencies. Hopefully, the government allocation in health sector is increasing gradually every year, but 67 per cent burden of cost on an individual is too huge, and this should be addressed taking the right steps. Despite constraints, Bangladesh has achieved considerable success in controlling diseases and increasing life expectancy. It is learnt that to minimise the gap between the public expenditure and the OOP, the government has embarked on the largest health sector programme worth Taka 1,15,486 crore for the fourth Health, Nutrition and Population (HNP) Sector Programme-2017-2021. This is 126 per cent higher than the third one. Besides increasing allocation in health budget, it is necessary to remove the existing anomalies and corruption from the health sector also.