For the first time in its fifty-six-year history, Bangladesh is attempting to build a health system rooted in prevention rather than crisis response — a quiet but profound shift in how a nation chooses to care for its people. Dr SM Ziauddin Hyder, the Prime Minister's Special Assistant on Health, is leading a sweeping redesign: 100,000 new community health workers, a universal health card, and a budget commitment that would multiply public health spending fivefold as a share of GDP. The plan confronts a system long hollowed out by neglect, where illness has functioned as a tax on the poor and
Bangladesh health chief outlines ambitious prevention-centered reform roadmap
Historically, 72% of health spending comes from out-of-pocket costs, driving poverty; lakhs of Bangladeshis travel abroad annually for treatment, draining $7-9 billion in foreign currency.