Sustainable Funding Urged to Combat Hypertension in Bangladesh

Experts at a discussion meeting marking World Hypertension Day have stressed the urgent need for sustainable funding to curb the growing threat of hypertension in Bangladesh. Despite the government's efforts to provide free anti-hypertensive medicines, speakers highlighted that uninterrupted nationwide supply remains a challenge due to the lack of stable financing.

The discussion titled “Prioritizing Hypertension Control: Bangladesh Perspective” was held on Saturday at BMA Bhaban in the capital. The event was organised by research and advocacy group PROGGA (Knowledge for Progress), with support from the Global Health Advocacy Incubator (GHAI). This year, the global theme for the day is “Measure Your Blood Pressure Accurately, Control It, Live Longer.”

Speakers revealed that one in every four adults in Bangladesh suffers from hypertension, which significantly contributes to non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as heart disease, stroke, cancer, kidney disease, respiratory illness, and diabetes—together accounting for 71 percent of deaths in the country. However, only 4.2 percent of the national health budget is allocated to combat NCDs.

Md. Khorshed Alam, Managing Director (Additional Secretary) of the Community Clinic Health Support Trust (CCHST), emphasised the importance of strengthening community-based healthcare to address hypertension at the grassroots level.

Dr. Md. Enamul Haque, Director General (Additional Secretary) of the Health Economics Unit (HEU), called for both an increase in funding and effective utilisation of the allocated budget, along with public awareness campaigns and preventive measures.

Md. Mamunur Rashid, Joint Secretary (WHO Wing) of the Health Services Division, noted that the Ministry of Health is actively working to ensure the availability of essential medicines across all healthcare facilities.

Professor Dr. Liaquat Ali, member of the Health Sector Reform Commission, stated that the commission has recommended legislation to make primary healthcare free, and proposed increasing the capacity of the Essential Drugs Company Limited to ensure medicine supply.

Other notable speakers at the event include Dr. Geeta Rani Devi, Program Manager, Community Based Health Care (CBHC), Professor Dr. Syed Abdul Hamid, Institute of Health Economics, Dhaka University, Dr. Abu Jamil Faisel, President Elect, Public Health Association of Bangladesh, Dr. Md. Atiqul Haque, Dean, Faculty of Preventive and Social Medicine, BMU, Professor Dr. Malay Kanti Mridha, BRAC James P Grant School of Public Health, Zahirul Alam, Head of News, NTV and ABM Zubair, Executive Director, PROGGA.

The event was moderated by Channel i’s Senior News Editor Mir Masrur Zaman, with a keynote presentation delivered by PROGGA’s Coordinator Sadia Galiba Prova. Muhammad Ruhul Quddus, Bangladesh Country Lead of GHAI, chaired the session.