One-fourth of people in the country suffer from high blood pressure –

Various infectious diseases, including high blood pressure, are responsible for 5 percent of the total death in Bangladesh. However, the amount of money in this sector is only 1.2 percent of the total health budget, which is very inadequate. In order to tackle the growing high blood pressure crisis, it is important to increase the allocation of the budget for the fiscal year 2021-27.

The demand was made at a two-day journalist workshop titled ‘Progress in Bangladesh to control high blood pressure’ on Tuesday and Wednesday (March 7-7) at the BMA building in the capital.

This workshop is organized by the Global Health Advocacy Incubator (GHAI). Twenty -two journalists working in print, television and online media participated in the workshop.

According to the workshop, a quarter of the country’s population is currently suffering from high blood pressure, which is one of the causes of various types of non -communicable diseases. In the meantime, it is important to ensure high blood pressure drugs in all community clinics and upazila health complexes in the country to control the worrying situation at the grassroots level to cope with the incidence of hypertension and sustainable financing is needed.

According to a report by the World Health Organization 2021, Bangladesh is committed to tackling non -communicable diseases as part of primary health services, but the allocation and allotted money in this sector did not show success. The report also referred to the basic challenge of keeping the supply of drugs to deal with non -communicable diseases in Bangladesh.

Enamul Haque, Director General of the Health Economics Unit (Additional Secretary) of the Health Economics Unit in the workshop, said that in addition to increasing the budget allocation to control non -communicable disease, it is important to ensure the implementation of the allotted budget.

Professor of Health Economics Institute of Dhaka University, Syed Abdul Hamid, said that it is important to increase public awareness to prevent and control non -communicable disease, strengthen screening activities and ensure the supply of necessary drugs to government hospitals. That is why the budget growth is inevitable.

GHAI Bangladesh Country Lead Muhammad Ruhul Kuddus said that the incidence of infectious diseases can be greatly reduced by ensuring high blood pressure drugs in all community clinics and upazila health complexes.

Also present as the negotiator in the workshop was the program manager (deputy secretary) of the Health Economics Unit. Mohammad Shawkat Hossain Khan, Program Manager of Community Based Health Care (CBHC) Dr. Gita Rani Devi, Assistant Professor of Public Health and Informatics Department of Bangladesh Medical University, Morshed Noman, Deputy Research Coordinator of BRAC James P Grants School of Public Health. Tanmay Sarkar, and Executive Director of wisdom ABM Jubair.

The director of Pragya highlighted the subject -based presentation in the workshop. Shahedul Alam and coordinator Sadia Ghaliba Prabha.

AAM/MIHS/GKS