Speakers call for increased budgetary allocation crucial to combat hypertension

Saying that the number of individuals affected by hypertension is increasing rapidly in Bangladesh, speakers at a workshop have stressed the need for increased budgetary allocation to combat hypertension.

The provision of free medicine has already commenced to combat this surge; ensuring its availability in all healthcare facilities at the grassroots level is essential to effectively controlling hypertension and hypertension-related non-communicable diseases and deaths, they said.

These recommendations came up at a virtual workshop for journalists titled "Necessity of Increasing Budgetary Allocation to Combat Hypertension: Bangladesh Perspective" on Saturday.

Organised by research and advocacy organisation PROGGA (Knowledge for Progress) with support from Global Health Advocacy Incubator (GHAI), forty-seven journalists from Sylhet division working in print, electronic and online media houses participated in the workshop.

Speakers also emphasised the need for sustainable and increased funding for an uninterrupted supply of the medicine.

About 71 per cent of total deaths in Bangladesh are attributed to non-communicable diseases such as heart disease, stroke, cancer, kidney diseases, respiratory diseases, diabetes, and hypertension, they said.

However, the budgetary allocation dedicated to combat NCDs is alarmingly low, comprising only 4.2 percent of the total health budget.

According to a World Health Organization (WHO) report published in 2024, continued supply of medicines is the primary challenge in NCD care.

The report further mentioned that despite Bangladesh's commitment to combat NCDs as part of Primary Health Care (PHC), allocations and fund utilization in this regard have yet to match the mandate.

ABM Zubair, Executive Director of PROGGA, was present at the event as a discussant.

PROGGA's Director Md Shahedul Alam and Coordinator Sadia Galiba Prova delivered presentations on hypertension control.