01Apr 2019

REVIEW OF BANGLADESH HEALTHCARE SYSTEM.

  • Aisha Ahmed, Mirza Jawad Ghazanfar Baig.
Crossref Cited-by Linking logo
  • Abstract
  • Keywords
  • References
  • Cite This Article as
  • Corresponding Author

Bangladesh health system is still undergoing reforms for more than 47 years after its independence in 1971, and is struggling to build up a broad health care infrastructure in both public and private sector. After adopting the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), Bangladesh achieved great success in MDG4 target of reducing infant mortality by 2015. There was a quick response towards enhancing the other key indicators which are maternal mortality, vaccination coverage, and life-expectancy from several fatal communicable diseases that includes TB, malaria, and Diarrhea. Notwithstanding, heath system of Bangladesh is still facing some difficulty to cope up with some basic challenges in public health issues. For instance, Bangladesh has two Ministries supervising the implementation of health policies and financial support for rural and urban areas, with absence of coordination amongst each other. Moreover, health system has insufficient healthcare workers who are trained with appropriate skills particularly in public health sector, which is further being affected by broad increment in unregulated healthcare suppliers. Additionally, low health care budget distribution from annual Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth by the government and high out of pocket payments to get heath care by the families accompanied by discrimination in healthcare access in rural and urban sectors. Likewise, inefficient health financing mechanism along with other challenges is affecting the universal health coverage targets in Bangladesh. Though, there may be a chance to diminish the healthcare workforce shortage for short time period through expansion of private sector and coordinating the social insurance provider with standard healthcare framework, public health sector still needs to be focused through increased funding and administer private and informal health care provider.


  1. Alamgir J. Bangladesh's Fresh Start. Journal of Democracy 2009;20(3).
  2. Anwar Islam TB. Health system in Bangladesh: Challenges and opportunities. American Journal of Health Research. 2014;2(6):366-74.
  3. Asadullah MN, Savoia A, Mahmud W. Paths to Development: Is there a Bangladesh Surprise? World Development. 2014;62:138-54.
  4. Panday PK. Local Government System in Bangladesh: How Far is it Decentralised? Journal of Local self-Government. 2011;9(3).
  5. Islam N. Urbanization and Urban Governance in Bangladesh. 13th Annual Global Development Conference on ?Urbanization & Development: Delving Deeper into the Nexus?; Budapest2012.
  6. Dussault G, Franceschini MC. Not enough there, too many here: understanding geographical imbalances in the distribution of the health workforce. Human Resources for Health. 2006;4(1):12.
  7. Zurn P, Dal Poz MR, Stilwell B, Adams O. Imbalance in the health workforce. Human Resources for Health. 2004;2(1):13.
  8. ANDALEEB SS. Public and private hospitals in Bangladesh: service quality and predictors of hospital choice. Journal of HEALTH POLICY AND PLANNING. 2000;15(1).
  9. Ssengooba F, Rahman SA, Hongoro C, Rutebemberwa E, Mustafa A, Kielmann T, et al. Health sector reforms and human resources for health in Uganda and Bangladesh: mechanisms of effect. Human Resources for Health. 2007;5(1):3.
  10. Osman FA. Health Policy, Programmes and System in Bangladesh: Achievements and Challenges. South Asian Survey. 2008;15(2):263-88.
  11. AndaleebSSaS, Nazlee and Khandakar, Shahjahan. Patient satisfaction with health services in Bangladesh. Journal of Health Policy and Planning. 2007;22(4):263-73.
  12. Syed Masud Ahmed TGE, Hilary Standing, Simeen Mahmud. Harnessing pluralism for better health in Bangladesh. The Lancet; 2013.
  13. Ahmed SM, Hossain MA, RajaChowdhury AM, Bhuiya AU. The health workforce crisis in Bangladesh: shortage, inappropriate skill-mix and inequitable distribution. Human Resources for Health. 2011;9(1):3.
  14. Alec Mercer MHK, Muhammad Daulatuzzaman, Joanna Reid. Effectiveness of an NGO primary health care programme in rural Bangladesh: evidence from the management information system. Journal of Health Policy and Planning. 2004;19(4):187?98.
  15. Kruk ME, Freedman LP. Assessing health system performance in developing countries: A review of the literature. Health Policy. 2008;85(3):263-76.
  16. Hussain A, Ali SMK, Kv?le G. Determinants of mortality among children in the urban slums of Dhaka city, Bangladesh. Tropical Medicine & International Health. 2002;4(11):758-64.
  17. Islam N. On a National Drug Policy for Bangladesh. Tropical Doctor. 1984;14(1):3-7.
  18. Ahmed SM, Islam QS. Availability and Rational Use of Drugs in Primary Healthcare Facilities Following the National Drug Policy of 1982: Is Bangladesh on Right Track? Journal of Health, Population and Nutrition. 2012;30(1):99-108.
  19. Xu K, Evans DB, Kawabata K, Zeramdini R, Klavus J, Murray CJL. Household catastrophic health expenditure: a multicountry analysis. The Lancet. 2003;362(9378):111-7.
  20. Rahman MM, Gilmour S, Saito E, Sultana P, Shibuya K. Health-Related Financial Catastrophe, Inequality and Chronic Illness in Bangladesh. PLOS ONE. 2013;8(2):e56873.
  21. Xu K, Evans DB, Carrin G, Aguilar-Rivera AM, Musgrove P, Evans T. Protecting Households From Catastrophic Health Spending. Health Affairs. 2007;26(4):972-83.
  22. Stanton B, Clemens J. User fees for health care in developing countries: A case study of Bangladesh. Social Science & Medicine. 1989;29(10):1199-205.
  23. CREESE AL. User charges for health care: a review of recent experience. Health Policy and Planning. 1991;6(4).
  24. Amin ATMN. The Role of the Informal Sector in Economic Development - Some Evidence from Dhaka, Bangladesh International Labour Review. 1987;126:611.
  25. Ahmed SM, Hossain MA. Knowledge and practice of unqualified and semi-qualified allopathic providers in rural Bangladesh: Implications for the HRH problem. Health Policy. 2007;84(2):332-43.
  26. A Mushtaque R Chowdhury AB, Mahbub Elahi Chowdhury, Sabrina Rasheed, Zakir Hussain, Lincoln C Chen. The Bangladesh paradox: exceptional health achievement despite economic poverty. The Lancet; 2013.
  27. Nahar B, Hossain MI, Hamadani JD, Ahmed T, Huda SN, Grantham-McGregor SM, et al. Effects of a community-based approach of food and psychosocial stimulation on growth and development of severely malnourished children in Bangladesh: a randomised trial. European Journal Of Clinical Nutrition. 2012;66:701.
  28. Shakil Ahmed MMK. A maternal health voucher scheme: what have we learned from the demand-side financing scheme in Bangladesh? Health Policy and Planning. 2011;26(1).
  29. Ensor T. Overcoming barriers to health service access: influencing the demand side. Journal of Health Policy and Planning. 2004;19(2).
  30. Nazmul Chaudhury Ghost Doctors: Absenteeism in Rural Bangladeshi Health Facilities. The World Bank Economic Review. 2004;18(3).
  31. Khan Shusmita H, TalukderShamim H. Nutrition transition in Bangladesh: is the country ready for this double burden. Obesity Reviews. 2013;14(S2):126-33.

[Gurpreet Singh Aujla, Aisha Ahmed, Mirza Jawad Ghazanfar Baig (2019); REVIEW OF BANGLADESH HEALTHCARE SYSTEM. Int. J. of Adv. Res. 7 (Apr). 55-60] (ISSN 2320-5407). www.journalijar.com


Dr. Gurpreet Singh Aujla
School of Public Health, The University of Queensland

DOI:


Article DOI: 10.21474/IJAR01/8790      
DOI URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.21474/IJAR01/8790