Essential medicines are in stock at around 22 per cent of surveyed public facilities, while 94 per cent of the facilities ended fiscal year 2024-25 with unspent allocations, according to a survey shared on Wednesday.
Besides, only 11 per cent of facilities cited financial mismanagement as a concern, disclosing that structural weaknesses in budget management and administrative complexity remained the main obstacle in budget spending.
The survey conducted by Power and Participation Research Centre (PPRC) commissioned by the Health Economics Unit (HEU) also said the overall budget utilisation rate of the surveyed institutions in the 2024-25 fiscal year was 85 per cent.
Health Minister Sardar Md. Sakhawat Hossain addressed the event as Chief Guest while study team leader Hossain Zillur Rahman presented the findings. The session was presided over by Dr. Md. Enamul Haq, Director General of HEU.
According to the survey, nearly four in ten medical technologist posts lie vacant in those healthcare facilities, it said. Disruptions at labs are driven by reagent stock-outs (43 per cent), non-functional equipment (34 per cent) and absence of trained technologists (19 per cent), it mentioned.
The continuity of imaging services at hospitals remained as low as 17-33 per cent.
The survey covered 22 public health facilities at primary, secondary and tertiary levels across all eight administrative divisions.
It reviewed budget and procurement records for the 2024-25 fiscal year, surveyed 95 officials with 32 interviews.
Speaking on the occasion, the minister said regarding irregularities in the tender process that sometimes unrealistic conditions are added to the tender to favor chosen persons.
During the Awami League era, two radiotherapy machines worth Tk 110 million were purchased for Tk 180 million. However, there was no preparation for where they were installed. And, those remain unused in Faridpur and Khulna, Sakhawat Hossain said.
Similarly, X-ray and other technology equipment were purchased during the tenure of previous governments without technical setup and manpower, said the minister.
He further said the BNP government will not extend the contract with the foreign company that has been providing dialysis in two major government hospitals.
"Since the Awami League era, a foreign company has dominated the dialysis market in Chittagong and Dhaka. When their contract expires in November, it will not be renewed," the minister said.
Indian Sandor Dialysis Services has been providing care at Dhaka's National Institute of Kidney Diseases and Urology Hospital and Chittagong Medical College Hospital since 2017 through a public-private partnership (PPP) project, it was learnt.
The government will now buy dialysis machines from its own sources, said the minister, adding that 50-bed dialysis centers are being opened in every medical college hospital and a 10-bed dialysis center in every district hospital.
Hossain Zillur Rahman emphasised that the core policy challenge is not merely securing larger health allocations, but building the institutional capacity to transform those funds into reliable services for citizens.
Meanwhile, about measles he said that 99 per cent of the children who are affected now and in hospitals are unvaccinated. Therefore, the vaccination campaign has now been accelerated.
Earlier, because of the miscalculation of 4 million children in the measles campaign in comparison to vitamin A capsule campaign kept many children out of coverage, he said.
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