Bangladesh, a nation born out of Pakistan in 1971 is performing better in universal health coverage indicators than its predecessor, reported Bangladesh Live News (BLN).
In a recent article in the Dawn, Professor Zafar Mirza of Shifa Tameer-i-Millat University, Islamabad and WHO adviser on Universal health coverage made some shocking revelations regarding the healthcare status in Pakistan.
Compare this statistic with Bangladesh, where under-5 years child mortality rate has declined gradually over the last 2 decades. Currently, it stands at 30 deaths per 1,000 live births, and it may be noted that these deaths accounted for 67 per cent of all under-5 years child deaths, reported BLN.
Meanwhile, in Bangladesh, a government-led Maternal Health Voucher scheme since 2007 is targeting poor women with the aim to improve access to and the utilisation of maternal health services by reducing the financial barriers through the provision of incentives, reported BLN.
The reduction in maternal mortality is attributed to multiple factors, including improved access and utilisation of health facilities, improvements in female education and per capita income.
While, Pakistan is one of the two remaining countries in the world where Poliomyelitis (polio) is prevalent despite billions of dollars that have been spent on eradication efforts. Bangladesh was declared a polio-free country by the Regional Certification Committee of WHO almost a decade back in 2014, reported BLN.
Further, Bangladesh’s BEXIMCO Pharma has launched the generic version of the wonder drug Sofosbuvir for treating hepatitis C under the brand name Sofovir C.
In 2019, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal and Thailand have become the first countries in WHO’s South-East Asia Region to achieve Hepatitis B control, with the prevalence of the deadly disease dropping to less than one per cent among five-year-old children.
Bangladesh’s health financing strategy (2012-2032) sets out the Government’s ambition to expand social protection for health and move towards UHC through the implementation of a Social Health Protection Scheme, its monitoring and evaluation and a results-based Financing program. (MILAP NEWS NETWORK)
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