BNP submits health reform proposals to commission

Staff Reporter :

The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) has submitted its proposals to the Health Sector Reform Commission, formed by the interim government to improve healthcare services in the country.

A delegation, led by BNP Health Affairs Secretary Dr. Rafiqul Islam, handed over the reform proposals to the commission at its office in the Shaheed Abu Sayeed International Convention Center on Minto Road.

The interim government established the 12-member Health Sector Reform Commission, headed by Professor AK Azad Khan, President of the Diabetic Association of Bangladesh, in November last year. The commission is responsible for formulating recommendations to make healthcare services more people-oriented, accessible, and of international standard.

Earlier on Tuesday, BNP introduced a national health sector reform outline, aiming to establish a universal healthcare system modeled after the UK’s National Health Service (NHS).

BNP Standing Committee member and former Health Minister Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain presented the party’s short, medium, and long-term reform proposals, addressing the sector’s challenges and outlining necessary improvements.

Mosharraf highlighted that quality healthcare remains inaccessible to marginalized populations, while medical education in Bangladesh lacks proper planning. He criticized the country’s healthcare system for failing to compete regionally and internationally, forcing many citizens to seek medical treatment abroad. Additionally, he noted that the private healthcare sector remains unaffordable for a large segment of the population.

The BNP leader emphasised that healthcare is a fundamental right, asserting that the existing system has failed to achieve the desired level of social equity. He pointed out that BNP’s 31-point outline for state restructuring includes a health sector reform proposal under section 26, which advocates for free healthcare for all, in line with the policies of a developed welfare state.