Health and Medical

Sector
Focus on reproductive health
 Total fertility rate (average number of children born to
a woman in her lifetime): 3
Contraceptive use among married women aged 15-49:
47% (modern methods); 58% (all methods)
Maternal mortality ratio (maternal deaths per 100,000
live births): 322*
Abortion is legal in Bangladesh to save the life of the
woman.

Focus on young women

 Percentage of females aged 15-19 who have ever been
married: 48%
Percentage of females who have given birth by age
18: 46%
Focus on HIV/AIDS
 **Percentage of adult population (ages 15-
49) living with HIV/AIDS: <0.1%
**Percentage of adult population (ages 15-
49) living with HIV/AIDS who are women:
13%
**Number of HIV-positive adults (ages 15+):
11,000
**Number of HIV-positive women (ages 15+):
1,400
• Since independence more than 30 years
ago, the government of Bangladesh has
invested substantially in the
institutionalization and strengthening of
health and family planning services, with
special attention to rural areas
• Significant changes in human resources
for health have taken place in recent years
leading to overall improvement in the
coverage of health services.
 In 1997, the distribution of physician per 10,000
populations was 2.03, which has increased to 3.0 in
2005.

 Life expectancy at birth has increased to 64.9 in

2005 from 58.4 in 1997.

 The availability of safe drinking water in urban

areas has increased from 44.9 percent in 1991 to
99.7 percent in 2001, and in the rural sector from 88
percent to 96.8 percent during the same period
 Despite these improvements, much remains still to
be done

 Mortalities rates, especially infant and maternal

mortality, continue to be unacceptably high

 The quality of life of the general population is still

very low.

 Government health expenditure as percentage of

the total government expenditure was 6.9 percent
in 1998 but it has also declined to 4.4 percent in
2002
 The availability of safe drinking water in urban areas
has increased from 44.9 percent in 1991 to 99.7
percent in 2001, and in the rural sector from 88
percent to 96.8 percent during the same period.

 Health problems abound, ranging from surface water

contamination, to arsenic in the groundwater, and
diseases including malaria, leptospirosis and dengue.

 Low calorie intake continues to result in malnutrition,

particularly in women and children.

 Diarrheal disease continues to be a major killer.

• The government is aware of this situation
and the major shortcomings that need to
be addressed, i.e., the development of an
efficient project management mechanism
across the health system; improvement in
the logistics of drug supplies and
equipment to health facilities at district
and lower levels.
Women and Maternal Health
Issues
Pregnant women, their families
and community are not aware of
the danger signs of pregnancy and childbirth
childbirth;
Pregnant women, their families
and community do not recognize
the need for skilled birth
attendance
Early marriage and early
pregnancy is one of the major
causes of high maternal
mortality/morbidity
Objectives
To achieve universal knowledge
about danger signs of pregnancy/
To increase the percentage of
women seeking delivery in the
hands of skilled providers, to at
least 50 percent.
To ensure girls are not married
before 18 years of age all births
and marriage are registered. To
motivate couples so that women
do not have first childbirth before
20 years of age
Issues
Risk of HIV/AIDS is increasing
over time
Superstition, misconception and
wrong practices e.g Son
preference , maternal nutrition and
health care, etc. are widely
existing within
families/communities
Objectives
To achieve universal knowledge
about STD/HIV/AIDS, safer sex
and Hepatitis B
To eliminate all types of
misconceptions and wrong
practices from families /
communities and promote value of
the girl child
National Health Policy of Bangladesh
Proposed Strategies
 1. An appropriate implementation of the Health
Policy needs mass-scale consensus and
commitment that will facilitate socio-economic,
social and political development. (through health
education)
 2. Prevention of diseases and health promotion
will be emphasized to achieve the basic objective
of “Health for All” using cost effective methods
(due to economic status)
 3. The Drug Policy will be liberalized and
improved in keeping with the Health Policy to
fulfill the overall needs for health services.(
liberalization to ensure drug affordability)
 4.Epidemiological surveillance system will
be integrated with the disease control
programmes (a specific institution will be
established for this reason)
 5.The community and the local government
will be integrated with the health service
system at all levels. (to ensure cooperation
at both national and local levels)
 6. Nutrition and health education will be
emphasised. (as they are the major driving
forces of health)
 7. Alternative health care services, such as
ayurvedic, unani and homeopathic
practices will be incorporated into the
National Policy.
 8. Infrastructure and transportation system
will be developed to minimize the disparity
in access to health services between rural
and urban areas. (a common problem in
developing countries).
 The health problems in Bangladesh had multiplied in
the absence of a clear policy. Bangladesh is a
developing country with one of the highest population
density which also stretches the financial capacity of
the government in providing its people with sufficient
medical and healthcare services.

 Today, the country is developing a system which could

ensure easy and sustained availability of health
services for the people, especially communities in
both rural and urban areas using cost-effective
programs. Present policies aims toensure optimum
quality, acceptance and availability of primary health
care and governmental medical services in all levels of
the society.