Healthcare services for the poor

There is a serious shortage of healthcare facilities in the public hospitals, while for poor people, private medical facilities are inaccessible. Barring a few private healthcare providers, namely Gono Shastho Kendra and some charity organisations, there are not enough affordable private medical facilities to support healthcare services for the commoners.

The government should allocate more money in the budget for the health sector. The current budget allocation (around 5 percent) is not adequate and needs to be substantially increased. Secondly, the government should make a provision for private hospitals that they must provide free or low-cost medical facilities to a certain number of poor people.

AKM Ehsanul Haque, Dhaka