Bangladesh loses $5B yearly as patients seek treatment abroad

Bangladesh loses around USD 5 billion annually as patients travel abroad for medical treatment, mainly due to a lack of trust in the domestic healthcare system, inaccurate diagnoses, and weak service management.

The Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) highlighted the issue at a seminar in the capital on Saturday.

The keynote paper, titled “Building Trust in Bangladesh’s Healthcare Sector: Ensuring a Strategic Framework for Quality Control”, noted that India remains the top destination for Bangladeshi patients, followed by Thailand, Singapore, and Malaysia. In 2024 alone, about 482,000 Bangladeshis sought treatment in India, accounting for 52 percent of Indian medical visas issued to foreign patients.

United Hospital Managing Director Malik Talha Ismail Bari, who presented the keynote, said many patients prefer overseas treatment due to doubts over accurate diagnoses, sudden hospital bill increases, hidden charges, counterfeit medicines, and substandard equipment.

The paper also cited challenges in Bangladesh’s healthcare system, including low government spending at less than 1 percent of GDP, out-of-pocket costs covering 73 percent of healthcare expenses, limited health insurance coverage at 2.5 percent, and nearly 80 percent of hospitals lacking advanced diagnostic equipment.

Despite the private sector providing roughly 60 percent of healthcare services, inconsistent quality and high costs remain major concerns. Additional factors driving patients abroad include poor service quality, skill gaps among healthcare workers, shortages of specialists, limited advanced treatments, inadequate post-treatment care, and absence of a unified health information system.

Public healthcare spending in Bangladesh is the lowest in South Asia, with per capita expenditure at only Tk 1,070. Nearly half the population lacks access to quality healthcare, while government initiatives remain insufficient to meet public needs.

The keynote projected Bangladesh’s healthcare market to grow to USD 14 billion in 2025 and expand to around USD 23 billion by 2030–2033. The medical devices market is also expected to exceed USD 820 million in 2025, up from USD 442 million in 2020, driven by rising import demand.

DCCI emphasized that the sector’s growth could create new opportunities for the economy and recommended increased public and private investment in healthcare.

The seminar was chaired by DCCI President Taskeen Ahmed, with Bangladesh Diabetic Association President National Professor AK Azad Khan attending as the chief guest.