Staff Reporter :
Country’s progress in controlling hypertension has drawn international praise, but health experts caution that the country’s efforts remain inadequate to meet its non-communicable disease (NCD) targets.
At a workshop for journalists titled “Hypertension Control in Bangladesh: Progress, Challenges and Way Forward”, held at the capital’s BMA Bhaban, speakers said the improvement is significant but incomplete.
The event was organised by PROGGA (Knowledge for Progress) with support from the Global Health Advocacy Incubator (GHAI).
The World Health Organization’s (WHO) Second Global Report on Hypertension recognised Bangladesh as a success story, noting that control rates have increased from 15 per cent in 2019 to 56 per cent in some regions by 2025.
However, one in four adults in the country still suffers from hypertension, which continues to be a leading cause of premature deaths.
“Hypertension remains a silent epidemic in Bangladesh,” said Sadia Galiba Prova, Coordinator of PROGGA, who delivered a presentation at the event.
“Ensuring free and uninterrupted access to anti-hypertensive medicine at the grassroots level is critical if we want to sustain the progress.”
Dr Muhammad Habibur Rahman, Deputy Director at the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), acknowledged the challenge.
“We are experiencing certain budgetary and management constraints in providing medicines for hypertension and other non-communicable diseases,” he said. “However, we are hopeful that these issues will be resolved soon.”
Representing the pharmaceutical sector, Md Riad Arafin, Deputy General Manager (Sales & Marketing) at Essential Drugs Company Limited (EDCL), said, “We always try to ensure that anti-hypertensive medicines are supplied on time to NCD corners and Community Clinics for people living at the grassroots level, and we remain committed to its continuation.”
Speakers at the workshop called for the immediate implementation of the government’s decision to supply Amlodipine 5 mg to all 14,000 community clinics across the country.
