Collaborative efforts for universal health coverage
Health is a fundamental right of every human being, yet it is not one enjoyed by everyone. Not just in Bangladesh, poor people everywhere—basically half of the world's population—lack access to essential health services. Although the world had set itself a target to achieve Universal Health Coverage by 2030—as part of the UN's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)—doing so would be extremely difficult because of the rising poverty and inequality in many countries. It is against this backdrop that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's proposal at the UN for collaboration among countries to accelerate progress in the Universal Health Coverage comes across as the right thing to do. One of the challenges facing poor and developing countries is the lack of resources to finance their healthcare schemes, as well as lack of proper health policies and inclusive development. One way to address this, as the PM has suggested, would be to forge partnerships at regional and global levels to mobilise resources for this purpose. That's easier said than done, however. But it at least serves as a vision worth taking forward.
This also calls for an assessment of the situation in Bangladesh where the poor are struggling to access healthcare. The government has established about 14,000 Community Clinics across the country to provide primary healthcare to rural areas, but many of those are in a perennially bad shape. Lack of physicians, nurses, adequate funds and equipment in many of those facilities is making healthcare inaccessible. These problems need to be fixed. Just establishing facilities without ensuring that they are run properly is not going to help improve Bangladesh's situation. Also, it's important that the government takes initiatives to make the rural areas self-sufficient in medical facilities. Poor budgetary allocation for health is a problem for Bangladesh, as is the general lack of accountability in the health sector. The persistence of all these problems means that a radical new approach is needed for the reforms that are being sought. That goes for both Bangladesh and the world in their pursuit for attaining universal health coverage.
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