Speakers at a workshop on Wednesday said that one in every four people in Bangladesh suffered from high blood pressure, stressing the urgent need to ensure uninterrupted availability of medicines at all health centres across the country.
The observations came at a virtual workshop titled Hypertension Control in Bangladesh: Progress, Barriers and Way Forward.
Non-governmental organisation PROGGA with the support from the Global Health Advocacy Incubator organised the workshop.
GHAI Bangladesh country lead Muhammad Ruhul Quddus and PROGGA executive director ABM Zubair attended the workshop as speakers.
PROGGA director Md Shahedul Alam and coordinator Sadia Galiba Prava delivered the subject wise presentation at the workshop.
Referring to a survey, Shahedul Alam said, 鈥極ne in every four people in Bangladesh suffers from high blood pressure or hypertension.鈥�
Health experts in the workshop noted that although medicines for hypertension were being distributed free of cost at community clinics and upazila health complexes, lack of sustainable financing and other challenges had caused recurring shortages.
They also called on the government to address this crisis and ensure adequate medicine supply at the grassroots level.
Speakers also pointed out that hypertension was one of the three leading causes of death and disability in Bangladesh.
They also urged the government to increase budgetary allocations for non-communicable diseases.
Thirty journalists in Rangpur division participated in the workshop.