Govt finally begins work on health reforms

Around three months after the Health Sector Reform Commission submitted its report, the health ministry has moved to implement some of its short-term recommendations at the primary stage.

Initially, the ministry plans to prepare a three-month action plan and begin implementing it. It has also asked all its wings and agencies to prepare their own plans and present them at a meeting on August 6.

Prof Sayedur Rahman, special assistant to the chief adviser for the health ministry, will preside over the meeting, which is expected to be attended by the heads of all its agencies, as well as all additional and joint secretaries of the Health Services Division, officials said.

The 12-member commission, led by National Professor AK Azad Khan, submitted its report on May 5, recommending a sweeping overhaul of health service management to make it more pro-people.

It suggested that the government make primary healthcare a constitutional obligation and provide it free of cost to ensure universal access.

The commission also called for the formation of an independent and permanent Bangladesh Health Commission to formulate essential policies and strategies and to oversee the health sector.

The proposed reforms, the commission said after submitting the report, would take around two years to implement and should be carried out by a powerful inter-ministerial committee.

The report came at a time when the health sector faces major challenges, including inadequate funding, a shortage of health workers, high out-of-pocket expenses, unequal access to services, and weak governance.

These issues, health experts say, deprive many people of quality treatment and compel many others to seek medical care abroad.

Upon receiving the report, Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus instructed the relevant authorities to act on the immediately actionable recommendations, stating that they could play a crucial role in resolving the problems in the health sector.

However, no inter-ministerial committee has yet been formed, nor has there been any visible move by the health ministry to begin implementing the commission's recommendations, until now.

Expressing frustration, a member of the reform commission recently told this correspondent: "The entire focus of the reform process has been on the constitution and the election system. What was the necessity of forming other commissions like ours?"

Against this backdrop, an official of the Health Services Division said, "The first meeting on the reform commission's report will be held on August 6, where a plan for its implementation will be devised."

In a letter sent to the heads of all its agencies on July 29, the division said it is necessary to review the reform commission report, critically analyse it, and examine the activities of each respective wing, department, or organisation to prepare short-term and long-term action plans.

"At the initial stage, a short-term (three-month) action plan should be formulated, and steps should be taken to begin implementation," it reads.

It also asked the respective wing, department, or organisation to arrange an internal meeting to prepare its action plan and prepare their presentation for discussion in the August 6 meeting.

Contacted, Health Services Division Secretary Saidur Rahman said, "We are working on the report. We have divided it and assigned the respective wings to the relevant areas."

"We hope to get the final shape by August 5 on which parts [of the reform report] can be implemented within what timeframe," he told The Daily Star yesterday.

He said they have a meeting on August 6 and will be able to provide details after that.

Replying to a question, the secretary said they initially sought a three-month plan from the wings, while long-term issues will be addressed later.