Envisioning Universal Health Coverage in Bangladesh

The Article 15(a) of Bangladesh's constitution has distinctly recognised healthcare as a fundamental right of all citizens, and it has been stipulated by the Article 18(1) that raising nutrition level and improving the quality of public health should be a top priority of the state.

Despite these well-defined provisions, universal healthcare in Bangladesh remains a distant dream.

While it is our duty to help others, it must not be forgotten that a nation cannot donate its way out of a healthcare crisis. We need permanent solutions like universal health coverage and according to the the World Health Organisation (WHO), "universal health coverage means that all people have access to the health services they need, when and where they need them, without financial hardship. It includes the full range of essential health services, from health promotion to prevention, treatment, rehabilitation, and palliative care."

One of the most practical ways to ensure universal health coverage is implementing effective health insurance programmes. However, in Bangladesh people with health insurance are virtually non-existent. A study by the WHO suggests that, of the 16-crore people in the country, only 90,000 have insurances and only 10% of those have health coverages.

The lack of transparency on part of the insurance companies is one of the impediments to universal health coverage in our nation. No country has ever achieved universal healthcare without the help of a robust insurance sector and Bangladesh cannot be any different either. Therefore, to protect the constitutional rights of its citizens, radical steps must be taken.

Studies have shown that uninsured people are 25 times more likely to die from curable health issues. This fact alone proves that we are long past the stage where we had the liberty to think of health coverage as a luxury and the sooner the government understands this, the better it will be for the people of Bangladesh.

The writer is a freelance researcher and writer. Email: tanjimhk98@gmail.com