Quality healthcare for people remained elusive throughout 2024 while the sector saw massive allegations of corruption and maltreatment in the first half of the year.
The second half of the past year that ended Tuesday was marked by massive demonstrations by health sector employees to press home their demands after the fall of Awami League government on August 5.
Health rights activists and patients said that no significant improvement was noticed in the health sector in the past year as people suffered to get services.
They demanded health sector鈥檚 legal reform, a pragmatic master plan, transparency, accountability and adequate budgetary allocation for the improvement of the sector.
Dhaka University鈥檚 Institute of Health Economics professor Syed Abdul Hamid said that the student-led July movement in 2024 created a huge scope for improvement, but still there was no visible impact.
He emphasised the health sector reform commission鈥檚 recommendation, legal reform, patients鈥� safety and service providers鈥� security for the development of the sector.
At the beginning of the year, a number of patients, including children, had died in alleged maltreatment that compelled the health department to conduct nationwide drives.
The Directorate General of Health Services closed on various grounds at least 1,600 hospitals and clinics in a month-long drive.
Sector people said that the healthcare institutions which were shut for different unlawful activities during the drive were back to operation again.
Runa Khatun, a resident of Sadullapur in Gaibandha, said that getting physician in a district- or upazila-level government hospital was very rare in her district while the physician was available in private medical facilities.
Janaastha Sangram Parishad convener Faizul Hakim Lala said that the ousting of a regime was a remarkable achievement in 2024 that created hope among the people for a new journey.
He urged for removing discrimination among the villagers and the city dwellers.
He also urged to ensure the presence of physicians at work stations and regular posting denying any political or other influences.
He said that the authorities must evaluate merit and qualification in posting.
He suggested decentralising the healthcare and producing adequate number of healthcare givers like doctors, nurses and technicians.
Public health campaigner Lenin Choudhury said that the DGHS was the first department which was formed after the independence of the country, but the department failed to place a comprehensive plan for the people鈥檚 health.
鈥楾he DGHS is doing everything on an ad hoc basis,鈥� he said, adding that they needed a comprehensive plan and its proper implementation.
He said that a healthcare system sustained on five pillars, including promotive, curative, rehabilitative and palliative.
The government should give emphasis on the healthcare system that includes all of them, he said.
He said that the government promised to set up a 10-bed ICU facility in every district, but the service was still not available.
Rights activists said that healthcare was still expensive that the common people could afford.
They demanded reducing out-of-pocket healthcare expenditure.
The out-of-pocket healthcare expenditure in the country rose to 73 per cent in 2021 while it was 68.5 per cent in 2020, according to the Bangladesh National Health account.
Of the total out-of-pocket spending, 54.40 per cent was spent for purchasing medicines, 27.52 per cent for diagnosis, 10.31 per cent for consultation and 7.77 per cent for transport.
About 64 lakh people in the country get poorer every year due to high medical costs, according to a 2010 research by the icddr,b.
The government failed to control the prices of lifesaving drugs as the manufacturers have been increasing the drug prices at will over the years, rights activists said.
They said that the government had also a little control on the prices of medical equipment.