Bangladesh Launches Tk1.06 Trillion Health Initiative

Of this total budget, Tk80,685 crore will be funded by the government, while Tk25,414 crore will come from loans provided by 11 international development partners.

The Health Services Division has presented a project proposal titled the “5th Health, Population, and Nutrition Sector Programme (HPNSP)” to the Planning Commission. This initiative seeks to achieve universal health coverage and elevate the quality of primary healthcare services, as highlighted by a Planning Commission official who spoke to the Daily Sun.

Recently, the Socio-Economic Infrastructure Division convened a project evaluation committee (PEC) meeting to assess the proposal. The official mentioned that feedback has been given, with recommendations for cost reductions in certain areas. The Health Services Division is expected to revise and resubmit the proposal before the commission can advance to the next steps.

Once the revisions are approved, the proposal will be forwarded for consideration at the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) meeting. If granted approval, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare plans to implement the project by June 2029.

Md Abdur Rouf, Chief of the Socio-Economic Infrastructure Division and an additional secretary, emphasized the significance of this project, stating, “This is a landmark initiative for the health sector. We are currently reviewing it and have posed several queries to the Health Services Division. Their revisions will be pivotal as we move toward final approval.”

Key objectives of this comprehensive project include improving primary healthcare, enhancing maternal and child health services, advancing family planning, reproductive health, and nutrition services. Additionally, the project will focus on public awareness campaigns, training, infrastructure development, human resource management, monitoring and evaluation, and research.

The initiative is anticipated to greatly strengthen the health sector and is seen as a crucial step towards achieving universal healthcare in Bangladesh.

Development partners have committed financial assistance totaling Tk25,414.70 crore (approximately $2.31 billion), including $479 million from the World Bank, $500 million from the Asian Development Bank (ADB), and $76.89 million from JICA. Other contributors include the Global Financial Facility (GFF) with $25 million, the Global Fund with $169 million, Sweden with $12 million, Canada with $3.69 million, UNICEF with $69.60 million, Gavi with $199.60 million, UNFPA with $10 million, and the World Health Organization (WHO) with $56 million. Overall, these grants amount to $529.54 million.

Despite this robust support, a funding gap of Tk7,700 crore ($700 million) remains, designated as a General Block Allocation, as no additional commitments have been made by other development partners at this time.

An official from the Health Services Division pointed out that the ongoing Fourth Sector Programme (Fourth HPNSP) is set to conclude in June 2024, and preparations for the Fifth HPNSP are already underway. A draft Programme Implementation Plan (PIP) has been developed following various stages of planning.

The programme will be executed through both divisions of the Ministry, with the Health Services Division overseeing approvals and coordination of necessary revisions. The draft PIP is currently under evaluation, after which it will be submitted to the Planning Commission for approval.

A comparative analysis of the previous four sector programmes alongside the proposed Fifth Sector Programme is also in progress, focusing on the development of its vision, mission, objectives, strategic goals, priority activities, and implementation strategies.

Prior to 1998, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare managed development initiatives through separate projects. Approximately 126 projects were consolidated into the first sector programme, known as the “Health and Population Sector Programme” (HPSP), which ran from 1998 to 2003. This was succeeded by three additional sector programmes, with the fourth set to end in June 2024.