Power and Participation Research Centre (PPRC) has identified four key challenges such as urbanisation, climate change, non-communicable diseases (NCD), and localisation or system resilience to ensure sustainable health solutions.
PPRC in collaboration with Jagrata Juba Shangha (JJS) has undertaken a research initiative titled 'Resilient Urban System for Health (RUSH)' in the Khulna City Corporation (KCC) area. A dissemination workshop was held at a hotel in Dhaka on Tuesday which provided a platform to reveal the study's findings.
The RUSH project, sponsored and supported by Concern Worldwide, seeks to address challenges in the urban health system through evidence-based, resilient, and participatory decision-making processes.
The project aims to engage stakeholders and employ community-based approaches to understand urbanisation, urban health challenges, and climate-induced migration.
The session, moderated by PPRC Executive Chairman Hossain Zillur Rahman, featured welcome remarks by Muhammad Emranul Haq, consortium programme manager at Concern Worldwide Bangladesh, and ATM Zakir Hossain, executive director of JJS.
Identifying the key challenges, Zillur Rahman underscored the importance of building resilience in the health system and gave a presentation, emphasising the need for a partnership approach involving diverse stakeholders, such as development groups, local actors, and NGOs.
He highlighted the commendable performance of Bangladesh's healthcare system during natural calamities, the innovative measures taken during the Covid-19 pandemic, and the need to recognise and address gaps in the urban public health structure.
Hasnat M Alamgir, study coordinator and professor at Southeast University, provided an overview of the project's objectives, methodology, and key findings from the beneficiary, provider, and authority perspectives.
The discussion called for increased government involvement, larger-scale events, and addressing bureaucracy in both administration and health cadres. Another speaker emphasised the need for effective medical waste management, highlighting the breaches in maintaining waste management plants at the clinics.
A proposal was put forward to build medical waste plants under the public-private partnership initiative. The importance of localising health initiatives, allocating budgets, and defining roles for the successful implementation of such initiatives was stressed. Dr Professor Abul Faiz, former DG, DGHS emphasised the need for system resilience, and promoting community engagement.
The event’s special guest, Manish Kumar Agrawal of Concern Worldwide said that there isn’t any singular solution for urban health systems. He emphasised the complexity of urban health issues and the necessity for multiple solutions.
Challenges identified included time and cost affordability, low government allocation in the health budget, and the importance of exploring new models, such as involving the private sector, to sustain urban healthcare and increase revenue for public health investments.
