Public health experts at a views exchange on Sunday emphasised the need to establish a health promotion foundation, highlighting the neglect of preventive healthcare within the country's mainstream health services.
They pointed out that the health budget has increased fourfold over the past decade, making it financially challenging for the state to cover the medical expenses of the vast population. Strengthening preventive healthcare is seen as the most viable solution to enhance public health.
The experts proposed the creation of a health promotion foundation as an effective means to address these challenges. This call for action emerged during a discussion on health promotion held at the 'Satyen Bose' meeting room of the Sangskriti Bikash Kendra in Paribagh, the capital.
Saifuddin Ahmed, executive director of Work for a Better Bangladesh (WBB) Trust, chaired the programme, where Syeda Ananya Rahman, the programme head of WBB Trust, delivered the keynote paper.
Anaya encouraged the government to prioritise preventive healthcare over only a treatment-dependent approach and stressed that establishing a health promotion foundation would contribute significantly to maintaining the health of the population.
She further suggested following international examples like ThaiHealth or VicHealth, where harmful products like sugary beverages, cars, bottled water, and tobacco are taxed to fund public health initiatives.
Saifuddin Ahmed expressed unanimous support for the establishment of a health promotion foundation and called for nationwide efforts to promote public health development through a series of planned activities.
Prof Dr Rashid-E-Mahbub, chairman of the National Committee on Health Rights Movement, and Dr MH Faruquee, Head of the Department of Occupational and Environmental Health at Bangladesh University of Health Sciences, among others, spoke at the event.
