In health, awareness is the key. Most diseases, communicable or non-communicable ones, can be averted simply by taking preventive measures. Yet most people become victims of diseases including the lethal ones because they do not know the preventing measures. Even educated people fail to take such actions because they do not know how and why a disease is spread in the first place.

Negligence also plays a great role in being infected by a disease. In Bangladesh, even a couple of decades ago, people’s knowledge about diseases were largely deficient. But thanks to the IT revolution, necessary information about health and diseases are now close to one’s hands. There are also efforts, from the government as well as NGOs, to contain certain diseases and health conditions that hitherto played havoc with public health. All these have had their positive impact on people’s health in general.

There was a time when greater Rangpur region was considered a backwater, but now not so. Not just has the economy of the area improved, growing public awareness is also tremendously helping people to reduce maternal and neonatal deaths. Awareness has also improved the condition of early marriages there. As a result, we have now improved health indexes in rural areas of Rangpur division.

Bangladesh is committed to achieving the sustainable development goals (SDGs) including the one on health by the stipulated time frame, by 2030. If the nation has to attain SDG targets on health, it must work on improving women and children’s health in the rural areas of the country. The government has many health programmes including the Union Digital Centers (UDCs), Union Health and Family Welfare Centres (UHFWCs) as well as community clinics. While these efforts have to be intensified more in the coming days, all across the country, it is also necessary to launch campaign for safe motherhood, safe pregnancy and delivery, maternal and neonatal health services, hygiene, sanitation and safe drinking water. Riches are not valuable to a person of poor health.

The government’s effort to augment people’s financial ability is laudable. True, better financial ability means people can spend more on health purposes, but if the public health sector is as a whole neglected, through inadequate health budget allocation and corruption in the sector, the development will not be sustainable.