Setting strategic priorities and identifying enablers and barriers are immediate tasks for implementing the Health Sector Reform Commission鈥檚 recommendations, said experts at a seminar held on Tuesday.
The seminar titled 鈥楳easures required for implementing the recommendations of the Health Sector Reform Commission鈥�, was organised by the Dhaka University鈥檚 Institute of Health Economics and the Alliance for Health Reforms Bangladesh at the Nabab Nawab Ali Chowdhury Senate Bhaban at Dhaka University in the capital.
On May 5, the interim government-formed Health Sector Reform Commission submitted its final report, recommending stronger primary healthcare services, universal health coverage, a skilled health administration and a financially solvent health sector.
The key recommendations include a constitutional guarantee of free primary healthcare, a unique health ID for every citizen, ward-level primary health centres, zero VAT on medicines for certain non-communicable diseases, allocation of 15 per cent of the national budget to the health sector, a separate wage board for health professionals and autonomous medical education institutions.
The commission also proposed the creation of an independent and permanent Bangladesh Health Commission, the establishment of a unified Bangladesh Health Service to oversee the Directorate General of Health Services, medical education and family planning, and a separate Public Service Commission for health cadre officials.
At the seminar, Institute of Health Economics professor Syed Abdul Hamid said that the implementation of the recommendations could begin with the establishment of a Bangladesh Health Commission.
Outlining the initial steps, he suggested that the interim government form a task force to facilitate drafting the Bangladesh Health Commission Act.
During an open discussion, Health Sector Reform Commission member Syed Md Akram Hossain called for issuing an ordinance to ensure free primary healthcare.
He also emphasised the need for a high-powered inter-ministerial committee to design transition pathways, ensure the free availability of essential medicines at public health centres and integrate the development and revenue budgets of the health sector.
Mohammad Mushtuq Husain, an adviser to the Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research, called for immediate actions, including the formation of a separate public health directorate and reducing disparities among healthcare professionals.
Mohammad Aminul Islam, a social science faculty member at the University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh, underscored the importance of building health literacy among service seekers to help them claim proper healthcare services.
Professor Ahmedul Kabir, former additional director general at the DGHS, raised concerns over the proposal for a separate PSC for the health sector.
He cautioned that such arrangements could lead to further bureaucratic complications.
Hossain Zillur Rahman, executive chairman of the Power and Participation Research Centre, said that social validation was essential for the successful implementation of the reform proposals.
鈥楾he success of the reform depends on identifying the enablers and the barriers,鈥� said Zillur, who moderated the seminar.
Chaired by Institute of Health Economics director professor Shameen Mobin Bhuiyan, the seminar was attended by former bureaucrats, public health experts, BCS health cadre officials, health technician representatives, medical students and journalists.
