Bangladeshis pay more for healthcare

According to a new report by the Health Economic Unit of the health ministry, citizens  are  bearing 67 percent of healthcare expenditure, the government contributing 23 percent and other actors like NGOs shouldering 10 percent. The out-of-pocket experience by our citizens is easy to understand when we see that public health finance amounted to Tk 10,200 crore in 2015 while citizens dished out nearly three times that much (Tk 30,200). By the government's own admission, although funding for healthcare has increased, its total share in healthcare expenditure has been on the decline. In fact it has declined from 37 percent to 23 percent in 2015 and there is massive discrepancy in district-wise allocation of funds with the capital city consuming nearly half the total budget (46 percent).

 What has changed over the years of course is the rise of private-sector driven healthcare. Indeed, going to the doctor nowadays almost always entails pathological tests for even the most rudimentary of ailments like fever and the overzealous prescribing of medication. This is supported in the report as it was found that a disproportionate amount of the national healthcare budget is being spent on medicines, healthcare services and curative healthcare (71.9 percent). That leaves a paltry 10 percent for investing in preventive healthcare and a measly two percent for education and medical personnel. A very gloomy picture but unless the government is willing to take steps to break the nexus that exists among healthcare practitioners, the pharmaceutical industry and the pathological test centres, patients in Bangladesh will continue to bear two-thirds of the total healthcare costs. There are enormous profits being made at the cost of the people and it is time authorities did something about it.